Expeditions organized or participated in by the Smithsonian . marked, andin most instances were not accompanied with objects of ceremony orutility. The exceptions were those remains with which were btiriedstone implements, shells or shell ornaments, a smoking pipe, a potteryvessel, or the like. The skeletons were found usually with the headpointed in an eastwardly direction, and were all in such a greatlydecomposed condition that it was impossible to preserve any of them 78 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 66 for measurement and study, the bones in most cases consisting
Expeditions organized or participated in by the Smithsonian . marked, andin most instances were not accompanied with objects of ceremony orutility. The exceptions were those remains with which were btiriedstone implements, shells or shell ornaments, a smoking pipe, a potteryvessel, or the like. The skeletons were found usually with the headpointed in an eastwardly direction, and were all in such a greatlydecomposed condition that it was impossible to preserve any of them 78 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 66 for measurement and study, the bones in most cases consisting ofonly a pasty mass. As mentioned above, most of the burials were unmarked. Theexceptions consisted of two graves encased and covered with slabsof stone, both unearthed near the very base of the mound. ( )ne ofthese stone graves contained a skeleton the hones of which werelargely of the consistency of corn-meal, owing to the ravages ofinsects : l)Ut what was lacking in the remains themselves was morethan compensated I)y the finding, near the skull, of a beautiful effigy. IlG. 93.—Sectional view of lire-pit 10 feet in length, showing indurated ash. vase of painted ])ottery, the only i)iece of painted ware, whole or frag-mentary, found in the entire mound. The occurrence of this type ofvessel and the presence of the stone graves at the bottom of themound suggest the possible occupancy of the site by Indians beforethe settlement of the Cherokee in the Nacoochee Valley. Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the mound was the largenumber of smoking pipes of pottery, mostly broken, but in manyforms and of varying degrees of workmanship. Some of the pipesare of excellent texture and are highly ornamented with conven-tionalized figures of birds, etc., or marked with incised designs. An-other feature of the mound was the great amount of broken potters-found, especially in the refuse at the base and covering the slopes. NO. 3 SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I915 79
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectscienti, bookyear1912
