66 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1921. 



When the accumulated superficial black loam was removed from 

 some of these circular depressions floors made of hard packed clay 

 were brought to light. Some of these floors were very pleasing to 

 the eye, being covered with a smoothed and polished coating of fine 

 black, glossy material. The stone slab tops of the coffins of little 

 children were exposed here and there, projecting an inch or two above 

 the level of the floor. 



A building was uncovered in the center of which was an altar 

 filled with the pure white ashes of the ancient perpetual fire. The 

 neighboring buildings were dwellings with fire beds used for do- 

 mestic cooking. Stone metates, mullers, and other utensils used for 

 household purposes were likewise found on the floors of these rooms. 



Mr. Myer also explored an unnamed group of five mounds and a 

 surrounding village site at Boiling Spring Academy in Williamson 

 County, Tenn. At the request of many citizens of Tennessee he gave 

 this the name of Fewkes Group in honor of Dr. J. Walter Fewkes, 

 Chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology, who had visited the site, 

 recognized its importance, and caused it to be explored. 



Archeological field work was carried on by Prof. J. E. Pearce, of 

 the University of Texas, in cooperation with the bureau. The area 

 examined is situated in the vicinity of the city of Athens, in Hender- 

 son County, and during this work Professor Pearce received many 

 courtesies from Judge A. B. Watkins, who has long manifested an 

 interest in the archeology of the region. Professor Pearce finds that 

 the eastern Texas region contains numerous mounds, village sites, 

 and burial places, the objects from which are quite different from 

 those found in the central and western portions of Texas. Three 

 interesting mounds on the Morrall farm, 4 miles east of Cherokee 

 County, were investigated. The highest of these mounds measures 

 80 feet across the base and 45 feet above the level of the base. The 

 second mound is 180 feet long by 75 feet wide, but is only 15 feet 

 high. Most of the mounds in the neighborhood of Athens have been 

 plowed over and have no regularity in form. Several mounds situ- 

 ated in Harrison County, particularly those on the farm of Mr. Lane 

 Mitchell, of Marshall, were examined and remains of earth lodges 

 discovered, in the floor of which are central fire pits. These are 

 probably recent. Numerous other sites were explored, yielding col- 

 lections of pottery, stone implements, and other objects illustrating 

 the life of the prehistoric aborigines of eastern Texas. Everything 

 found implies that the Indians of this region lived in settled vil- 

 lages, were agriculturists, and made pottery of a high grade of 

 excellence. Their culture was higher than that of the Indians who 

 occupied the central region of Texas, investigated in 1919. 



