The minor arts of Mesa Verde seem to have been much like those of Chaco Canyon, but neither material nor craftsmanship appears to have been as good. Again, the scarcity of burials has reduced the chances of obtaining much valuable information. In open sites they have been found occasionally in refuse heaps, but more often they occur in pits under floors of houses which continued to be occupied, or in abandoned rooms. At Mesa Verde a few burials have been found in refuse heaps behind the houses, a few under the floors of abandoned rooms, and others in the cracks and crevices of the talus slope in front of the caves. There is also some evidence of occasional cremations.[24] On mesa tops, have been found a few stone rings overlying calcined human bones, and one room in Cliff Palace was found to contain ashes and human bones. There is no evidence, however, that cremation was widely practiced, and the few graves which have been found would account for only a small fraction of the deaths which must have occurred during the period of occupancy. It is believed probable that most burials may have been in the refuse heaps in front of the caves and that they have weathered away. The last building date we have for Mesa Verde is 1273, but it is possible that the great houses may have been occupied for some time after this. The final date of departure probably falls within the period of the disastrous drought of 1276 to 1299, when the farmers of Mesa Verde must have been fighting a losing battle against overwhelming odds. The departure seems to have been an orderly one, for the people took most of their possessions with them. There does not seem to have been any one, great migration. Rather it appears that first one section, and then another, was abandoned as one or more small groups moved on. The abandonment of the cliff houses has given rise to many fantastic stories, and there has grown up a certain belief that the “Cliff Dwellers” more or less disappeared into thin air. Certainly there is enough mystery connected with this strange departure, but great numbers of people do not simply vanish. Actually, they moved farther and farther south, and perhaps to the southeast and southwest, looking for more favorable locations. As they mingled with other groups they lost their identity, but doubtless there is still a strain of Mesa Verde blood in the present Pueblo Indian population. Perhaps the Indian, whom we see selling jewelry in the lobby of some modern Southwestern hotel, had ancestors who helped build the ancient city which we know as Cliff Palace.