133 lines
5.8 KiB
Plaintext
133 lines
5.8 KiB
Plaintext
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(word processor parameters LM=8, RM=75, TM=2, BM=2)
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Taken from KeelyNet BBS (214) 324-3501
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Sponsored by Vangard Sciences
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PO BOX 1031
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Mesquite, TX 75150
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There are ABSOLUTELY NO RESTRICTIONS
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on duplicating, publishing or distributing the
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files on KeelyNet except where noted!
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September 2, 1993
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CHAMBERS.ASC
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This file shared with KeelyNet courtesy of Rick Lawler.
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ARIZONA DAILY SUN
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Flagstaff, Arizona
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Saturday, April 27, 1991
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ANCIENT CHAMBERS SPAN ACROSS BENEATH NORTHERN ARIZONA
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New Orleans (AP) -- Three young archaelogists came to Northern
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Arizona and crept through sacred rooms, over rocky precipes and by
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dangerous rattlesnakes to discover a huge complex of catagombs that
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could rewrite theories about the Indians of the southwestern United
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States.
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"It's absolutely mind-numbing. We would have never believed it could
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have existed," John W. Hohman, one of the three archaeologists, said
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Friday during the meeting of the 2,000 member Society of American
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Archaeology. "It will change a lot of what we believed about Indians
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in the Southwest. They may have been far more advanced than we
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believed."
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Hohman admitted to feeling a bit like Indiana Jones, the
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archaeologists-adventurer from the movies. Armed with a flashlight
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and a pistol, it was Hohman who rapelled down the steep fissures,
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frequently dotted with rattlesnakes sunning themselves on rocky
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outcrops, into the catacombs.
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The catacombs his expedition found are the first reported in the
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United States, officials at the conference said.
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"It's very exciting to have it annunced at this conference. It's
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one of the few times we can say this is a first. Anytime you have a
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first in our business, it's exciting," said Dr. James Schoenwetter,
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professor of anthropology at Arizona State University in Tempe,
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Ariz. "The idea of a very elaborate form of ceremonial chamber being
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built underground hundreds of years ago is surprising."
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Indians of the southwest United States were not believed to have
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built underground, Hohman said. For many of the cultures the
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underground held special connotations, both good and bad, he said.
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Burials were also done much as they are done now, he said, in graves
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dug into the earth.
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Page 1
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The catacombs, which Hohman and colleagues say are about 700 to 800
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years old, were discovered at a known prehistoric Indian settlement
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about two miles west of Springerville.
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The Mongollon Indians occupied the site sometime between A.D. 1250
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and 1400, Hohman said.
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"There had been some suspicion that there was something underground
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there," Adams said, "When we actually entered the catacombs though,
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it just blew us away."
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Getting there wasn't easy.
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"Everytime I'd get halfway down one of the others would find the
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entry way," Hohman said.
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The carefully hidden entrances to the catacombs varied from the size
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of doorways to small crawl spaces.
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Once inside, Hohman and his colleagues found three to four acres of
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catacombs, ranging from small chambers to huge rooms 50 feet high
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and 100 feet long.
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"It's obvious that they were to protect the cattacombs," said White.
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"The average person living at the site would not have had access to
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the area. It was probably entered only by certain people."
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Hohman, Diane E. White and Christopher D. Adams were investigating
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the area for the town with an eye toward developing it as a
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recreation area.
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Hohman expects the site to produce at least one more major find.
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"We think there is something else underground there. We're working
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in an area that we think will produce another major surprise," he
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said.
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The area, but not the catacombs, is open to the public, and will be
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developed into a recreational area, Hohman said. The park is
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expected to be opened within two years, he said.
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Called Casa Malpais, the site represents one of the largest and most
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complex ancient Mongollon communities in the nation, Hohman said.
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[File submitted and upload by Linda Murphy. Springerville is located
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on I-60, close to the New Mexico border]
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If you have comments or other information relating to such topics
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as this paper covers, please upload to KeelyNet or send to the
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Vangard Sciences address as listed on the first page.
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Thank you for your consideration, interest and support.
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Jerry W. Decker.........Ron Barker...........Chuck Henderson
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Vangard Sciences/KeelyNet
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If we can be of service, you may contact
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Jerry at (214) 324-8741 or Ron at (214) 242-9346
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