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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE,
MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK,
Mancos, Colo., September 15, 1929.

The SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR,

Washington, D. C.

MY DEAR MR. SECRETARY: I am transmitting herewith my annual report as department archaeologist, regretting that excessively wet weather during the month of August, that culminated in a serious cloudburst near the end of the month, prevented earlier preparation of the report. I trust that I have presented the information contained therein in a manner and form acceptable to you.

Under the subhead in the report entitled "Permits granted by the Secretary," it is of importance to scientific institutions to know the exact extent of the area involved under the respective permits, and for this reason it would be appreciated by the writer, and others engaged in like work, if this portion of the report could be printed in its entirety. It constitutes the only published report available of the extent of the examination of others in the field.

The impatience of institutions in gaining permits is natural, since funds for such work are largely provided through personal donations, and for this reason such work is rarely planned long in advance. Stress should be placed on the prompt filing of reports, as required in the issuance of the permits, since unwarranted delay or noncompliance with instructions seriously disrupts the completion of files under each permit.

It is particularly important at this time that an effort be made to enlist the cooperation of all field representatives of the department in the matter of protection and preservation of archaeological and other remains on the public domain. I have repeated my recommendations of the past annual report in the hope that some definite help may be gained.

I have watched the trend of visitor travel through the southwestern archaeological field for the past 25 years and have noted its gradual advance from the main routes to the then practically unknown and untraversed areas of the Southwest. With scientific organization now established and eager to enter the field in greater concentration than ever before, it becomes more and more important that the tremendous wealth of archaeological remains in the Southwest be protected for their serious investigations. Only drastic methods can stop the unlicensed "pothunter," and, I may add, the majority of tourists are potential" pothunters." One lone field representative with the responsibility of administering and operating a national park can not protect an area that extends over the major portion of the Southwestern States. Help is needed.

Trusting that my conduct of this division of the department's activities has met with your approval, I am,

Respectfully yours,

JESSE L. NUSBAUM, Department Archaeologist.

V

ANNUAL REPORT OF JESSE L. NUSBAUM, DEPART

MENT ARCHAEOLOGIST

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

The department archaeologist renders advisory service to all branches of the department, as well as to the scientific and educational institutions contemplating or engaged in archaeological and like investigations on the lands of the public domain under the jurisdiction of the department, in addition to his duties as superintendent of Mesa Verde National Park, Colo., one of the major archaeological areas of the Southwest.

This office is also concerned with working out means and methods for the better protection of the countless thousands of archaeological sites scattered over the lands of the department, mainly in the Southwest; the prevention of unlawful excavation and gathering of objects of antiquity thereon; the orderly progression of the work in the field under secretarial permit; the publication of the information so gained, as well as the broader aspects of this service with which scientific and educational institutions are so thoroughly in accord.

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

The act of June 8, 1906, entitled "An act for the preservation of American antiquities," provides, among other things:

SEC. 3. That permits for the examination of ruins, the excavation of archaeological sites, and the gathering of objects of antiquity upon the lands under their respective jurisdiction may be granted by the Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, and War, to institutions which they may deem properly qualified to conduct such examination, excavation, or gathering, subject to such rules and regulations as they may prescribe: Provided, That the examinations, excavations, and gatherings are undertaken for the benefit of reputable museums, universities, colleges, or other recognized scientific or educational institutions, with a view of increasing the knowledge of such objects, and that the gatherings shall be made for permanent preservation in public museums.

SEC. 4. That the Secretaries of the departments aforesaid shall make and publish from time to time uniform rules and regulations for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act.

The uniform rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretaries of the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, and War, pursuant to the above-mentioned act, under date of December 28, 1906, provide (par. 3) that:

Permits for the excavation of ruins, the excavation of archaeological sites, and the gathering of objects of antiquity will be granted by the respective Secretaries having jurisdiction to reputable museums, universities, colleges, or other recognized scientific or educational institutions, or to their duly authorized agents.

APPLICATIONS RECOMMENDED

During the past year 17 applications for permits were received for consideration and recommendation, of which 13 were concerned with archaeological investigations and 4 with paleontological examinations. But one application was unfavorably reported, that of an institution desiring a paleontological permit on lands on which another institution was already engaged in like work under a prior permit. Certain regulatory and restrictive requirements were recommended for insertion in the formal permits so that work accomplished thereunder would meet with department approval in all respects.

PERMITS GRANTED BY THE SECRETARY

July 27, 1928: To Dr. Byron Cummings, president, University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz., extension for a period of one year of prior permit to conduct archaeological reconnaissance and excavation in the San Juan drainage and on the Gila drainage on the San Carlos Reservation, Ariz., and to include permission to excavate a small pueblo ruin in township 21 north, range 8 east, section 34, approximately 72 miles east of Flagstaff, Ariz.

July 31, 1928: To Mr. F. W. Hodge, acting director, Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York City, to conduct minor final excavations at the ruins of Hawikuh, on the Zuni Indian Reservation, N. Mex., in completion of work inaugurated under department permit of 1923.

August 1, 1928: To Dr. F. B. R. Hellems, acting president, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo., to permit their representative, Mr. Earle H. Morris, to conduct an archaeological reconnaissance in that portion of the Hopi Indian Reservation, Ariz., lying south of the thirty-sixth parallel and extending eastward from the west boundary of Navajo County to the Keams Canyon agency, and to excavate and collect archaeological specimens in a ruin and the refuse heaps pertaining thereto at the foot of Second Mesa, near Toreva. Objection of Hopi Indians of Second Mesa to excavation in their ancestral home resulted in transferring operations to the ruins of Kawaikuh, 7 miles from Jeddito, under recommendations approved by the Assistant Secretary, September 22, 1928.

September 28, 1928: To President George Thomas, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, permission to excavate two small burial mounds in Ute Canyon, 12 miles southeast of Blanding, Utah, under the direction of the department of anthropology of said university.

NOTE.-Unlicensed pothunters, probably of the adjacent region, completely destroyed these two sites, from the scientific standpoint, prior to the arrival of the university expedition in mid-October, 1928.

December 13, 1928: To Harold S. Gladwin, the Medallion, Pasadena, Calif., permission to June 30, 1929, to make surface collections of potsherds on ruins, rubbish mounds, etc., without excavation, on the public lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior in the southwestern section of the United States, except Indian reservations, for which specific authority must first be obtained.

January 19, 1929: To Mr. M. R. Harrington, director of research, Southwest Museum, Los Angeles, Calif., permission to conduct archacological reconnaissance on behalf of the Southwest Museum on

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