The choice of Pecos for investigation by Phillips Academy was due to the above considerations. The ruin was a large one, was occupied at the time of the Discovery and was not abandoned until 1838. A surface examination also showed that it must have been tenanted for a long time prior to the Conquest because its mounds were scattered over with potsherds not only of recent date, but also of several distinct prehistoric types, each one well enough known to students, but whose relative ages were entirely a matter of conjecture. It was hoped, therefore, that excavation might disclose some definite cases of superposition, and that several prehistoric periods might thereby be arranged in their proper chronological order.

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