434. Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities, 



They exhibit a very respectable development of brain, especially 

 in the male skulls, and they show the fallacy of the conclusions 

 hastily adopted by some ethnologists as to the supposed distinct- 

 ness in form of the American skull from that of the populations 

 of the old world, and its supposed general brachykephalic 

 type. Facts to be stated in the sequel show that these skulls 

 must have belonged to an ancient and unmixed American people, 

 and they are markedly characterised by the American type of 

 face ; but the brain case in form and dimensions differs little from 

 types prevalent among European races. 



4. Remains of articles of food. — In and near the little hearths 

 or ovens above mentioned, are numerous bones of animals, some 

 in a condition sufficiently perfect to permit their determination. 

 Among them are remains of the Bear, Beaver, Deer, Dog, Fox ; 

 of several fishes ; especially the Cat-fish, Corvina and Sturgeon ; and 

 of birds. Shells of Unio gibbosa, the most common fresh water 

 mussel in the St. Lawrence near Montreal, charred grains of 

 Indian Corn and stones of the wild cherry, also occur. 



5. Earthen Vessels. — These appear to have been of the usual 

 form of those made by the aborigines, rounded below and rising 

 with a graceful double curve toward the mouth, v/hich is either 

 round or square with prominent corners, the latter form giving a 

 very elegant outline. For the general form I may refer to the 

 figure and description of an Indian vase from the Ottawa in this 

 Journal, Vol. 4, p. 188. The sides and bottom of these vessels 

 are usually smooth, but in one or two instances are covered with 

 square indentations giving a sort of netted pattern. (Fig. 4). The 



Fig. 4. 



mouths and necks are ornam.ented with depressed lines and notches 

 variously arranged, with circles stamped on the clay, and with 

 prints made by the point of the finger. The patterns are various 

 and often very tasteful. A few of them are represented of half 

 the actual dimensions in figs. 5 to 10. The material is clay mixed 



