From the preceding facts it is evident that the people who once inhabited Spruce-tree House were not highly developed in culture, although the buildings show an advanced order of architecture for aborigines of North America. Architecturally the cliff-dwellings excel pueblos of more recent construction.

The pottery is not inferior to that of other parts of the Southwest, but has fewer symbols and is not as fine or varied in colors as that from Sikyatki or from Casas Grandes in Sonora. It is better than the pottery from the Casa Grande and other compounds of the Gila and about the same in texture and symbols as that from Chelly canyon and Chaco canyon.

The remaining minor antiquities, as cloth, basketry, wood, and bone, are of the same general character as those found elsewhere in the Southwest. Shell work is practically lacking; no objects made from marine shells have been found.

The picture of culture drawn from what we know of the life at Spruce-tree House is practically the same as that of a pueblo like Walpi at the time of its discovery by whites, and until about fifty years ago. The people were farmers, timid, industrious, and superstitious. The women were skillful potters and made fine baskets. The men made cloth of good quality and cultivated corn, beans, and melons.

In the long winters the kivas served as the lounging places for the men who were engaged in an almost constant round of ceremonies of dramatic character, which took the place of the pleasures of the chase. They never ventured far from home and rarely met strangers. They had all those unsocial characteristics which an isolated life fosters.

What language they spoke, and whether various Mesa Verde Houses had the same language, at present no one can tell. The culture was self-centered and apparently well developed. It is not known whether it originated in the Mesa Verde canyons or was completely evolved when it reached there.

Although we know little about the culture of the prehistoric inhabitants of Mesa Verde, it does not follow that we can not find out more. There are many ruins awaiting exploration in this region and future work will reveal much which has been so long hidden.

The pressure of outside tribes, or what may be called human environmnent, probably had much to do originally with the choice of caves for houses, and the magnificent caverns of the Mesa Verde naturally attracted men as favorable sites for their houses. The habit of huddling together in a limited space, necessitated by a life in the cliffs, possibly developed the composite form which still persists in the pueblo form of architecture.