PAPERS RELATING TO ANTHROPOLOGY. 751 



preservative mode — the ashes aud coal for the bed of the sleepers, and 

 the hard burnt clay as their covering. Under sucJi circumstances it re- 

 quired years for these bodies to molder away. Perhaps where these 

 mounds stand forests have grown up, fallen, and decayed to give place 

 to other species, aud yet a goodlj" portion of the skeletons are exhumed 

 from these tumuli in a good state of preservation. The people who once 

 occupied this laud have had their turn, and in the most joj'ous career 

 of their vanity and splendor their strength failed, aud they have again 

 returned to dust. Therefore the whole world is but a sepulcher, and 

 there has nothing lived on its surface but has been entombed beneath 

 it. The mounds and obscure cemeteries all over the world are full of 

 this loathsome dust of bodies once quickened by living souls, who per- 

 haps occupied thrones, presided over assemblies, marshaled armies, and 

 subdued provinces. 



Mounds surrounded by circular walls are scattered along the valley 

 and on the hill-toj)S that command a view of the greatest territory ; 

 those in the valley generally stand on the second terrace formation, 

 near the greatest prominence. Why are the circular walls thus built *? Is 

 it to mark the peculiar purpose for which they were constructed, as 

 signal, crematory, or sacrificial. Perhaps these walls were built to serve 

 the purpose .to which have been attributed the smaller circular works 

 without any center elevation. All the lesser works of this character 

 were probably constructed for the same j)urpose as mentioned hereto- 

 fore. They are the remains of a primeval wigwam, it may have been of 

 a religious character, or one in which the royal chief and family dwelt. 

 Exploration does not develop anything positive. It is seldom that any 

 fragment of boue is found. When such is the case it is of an animal, 

 but the species cannot be determined. Generally fragments of pottery 

 are found throughout the work, but domestic implements are seldom 

 found. If such be the case it will be only a fragment. Another notice- 

 able feature is that these structures contain no ornamental or ceremonial 

 stones. If one is allowed to judge from the material that is found 

 within them, of a domestic character, they would be classed as kitchen 

 mounds, containing more fragments of plain domestic pottery than any- 

 thing else. They cannot be works of defense, for they are too small, 

 measuring only 40 to 80 feet in diameter. These circular works were 

 simply the protection walls of a wigwam or temple, perhaps of religious 

 character. [Nothing can be more obvious than that they were built in 

 accordance with a general plan and for a specific purpose. When, how- 

 ever, a conclusion is sustained by analogies of a most striking charac- 

 ter, it is invested with double value. It is then that we proceed with 

 some degree of confidence to inquire how far we are justified in suj)pos- 

 ing that these ancient structures were temples of worship, or palaces for 

 the chief ruler. It is true, we have neither the light of tradition nor 

 that of history to guide us in our inquiries. Even the name of the 

 peojile by whom these works were constructed is lost. Therefore every 



