1S96.] 4oj [Putnam. 



Mr. Cusliing is inclined to believe that they came from South America. 

 I understand that would be your idea (turning to Mr. Gushing), that 

 these were the Arawaks or the Caribs, and that they came up from South 

 America ? 



Mr. Cu.shing (answering) : Yes. 



Prof. Putnam (continuing) : Dr. Brinton is rather inclined to say 

 that they did not come from there. 



Dr. Brinton : Because there is no linguistic evidence to that effect. 



Prof. Putnam : And also that the culture is somewhat different from 

 either the Arawak or the Caribbean. It seems to me that it certainly is 

 a difierent culture. And now there is another point that M^e must con- 

 sider. Mr. Cushing's collection includes a large number of human 

 skulls which T have had the pleasure of seeing in the museum to- 

 day. I am much interested to note that these skulls are of the same 

 type as those found in tlie sand mounds of Florida. The first of this 

 type that I ever saw came from the sand mounds around Cedar 

 Keys and were brought to notice by the late Prof. Jeffries Wyman. 

 Mr. Clarence B. Moore has found this type in the sand mounds of east- 

 ern Florida. The same general type has been found througliout north- 

 ern Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and througli the region extending 

 towards the Cumberland valley in Tennessee ; also westward through 

 tlie Pueblo region and in Central America. It is the general brachy- 

 cephalic skull ; not only brachycephalic, but decidedly rounded, with 

 more or less artificial flattening of the frontal and occipital regions. I 

 have regarded this type of skull as belonging to the southern and south- 

 western peoples of North America. I believe that this type of skull is 

 the type of the people who first settled, so far as we know, in Cen- 

 tral America and on the shores of Peru and northern Soutli America ; 

 that in all probability this people extended eastward, coming across the 

 Isthmus through the Central American region and extending along the 

 Gulf of Mexico and over into Florida, and finally, judging from the 

 evidence tliat Mr. Gushing has presented to-night, being driven onto 

 these keys. In fact I should consider it probable that the line of migra- 

 tion was directly opposite to the one which has been suggested. That 

 is, I believe it more likely that tliis was a people wlio, having had an 

 early home in the Central American region, extended around the Gulf to 

 Florida, rather than a people who came from South America to the 

 Florida Keys and then spread into Florida and westward. 



For a number of years Mr. Clarence B. Moore lias been engaged in 

 exploring the sand mounds of Florida. He has found a large number of 

 objects of the same character as many of these upon the table. He has 

 not found any wooden carvings ; I tliink he has not found anythin" 

 made of wood except a few very small pieces with copper attached ; but 

 nearly all the bone implements, many of the bone ornaments, and many 

 of the shell implements which are upon the table are almost identical 

 with those found in tlie sand mounds on the eastern coast of Florida. 

 Thus we find the same culture, so far as the bone and shell objects can 



