The Indians of the Mesa Verde received the bow and arrow after they had acquired houses and pottery. Some band of wandering Indians probably brought the new weapon into the region and the people may have obtained it by peaceful borrowing. Or they may have recognized the superiority of the bow through the sad experience of trying to defend themselves with their atlatls. Whatever the circumstances may have been they adopted the bow and the atlatl was discarded. The bow excelled the atlatl in every way. It had greater accuracy and was well adapted for stalking game or defending the home since it could be shot from almost any position. Brush and trees did not interfere with its use as in the case of the atlatl which could be used only where there was room for the overhead sweep of the arm. Arrows were shorter than atlatl darts, easier to carry and their range was greater. The bow was also more efficient in the killing of small game. As is always the case the old gave way to the new. The bow was accepted and soon mastered. Defense of the home was easier, hunting was more efficient and more game animals were killed than had been possible with the atlatl. An extremely important point that must be remembered is that the house, pottery and the bow did not all arrive at the same time. It must not be considered that on a certain day, in a certain year, the Basket Makers voted to accept the new things and become Modified Basket Makers. These new cultural traits filtered in slowly and the people themselves little realized how their culture was changing. During this period beans came up from the south and were accepted eagerly by the farmers. It is entirely possible that this acceptance was made possible by the new cooking vessels which the people now possessed. At an altitude of 7000 feet dry beans require several hours of boiling and while the people cooked in baskets this would have been virtually impossible. Pottery cooking vessels made the task easy, however, and the beans, an excellent protein food, gave the people a more balanced diet. New varieties of corn also appeared. Previously only red corn had been grown but now other colors became common. During this period other cultural changes of a minor nature occurred. Hafted stone mauls and axes appeared, the latter being vitally necessary for cutting the many poles used in house construction. The turkey was domesticated and feather blankets, which had first appeared in the preceding period, became increasingly common. Jewelry was much the same as in earlier times except that turquoise came into use and this gave the people an additional stone from which to make beads, pendants and earrings.