ANCIENT EELICS AT DAYTON, OHIO. 841 



smallest about one-tenth of an inch. Of these beads about one hundred 

 and seventy five were found. They were generally flat at the ends, the 

 plates of shell structure extending lengthwise, the sides were either im- 

 perfectly cylindrical or a slight attempt was made toward rounding 

 hem off as in modern glass beads. The interesting feature is the man- 

 ner in which the holes are drilled. They consist of two concave open- 

 ings, one from each end, having the opening towards the center of each 

 bead, the narrowest diameter showing that the holes were drilled from 

 both sides, the openings meeting in the center. If the hole had been 

 drilled from one side alone the form of the opening would have been 

 that of a hole large at one end and smaller at the other. 



The only Indian skull which was at all well preserved presented the 

 ordinary features of an Indian head. It had a flattening of the occiput 

 on the left side of the head, in which it differs from ordinary cases of 

 compression where the flattening is regular and exactly on the back of 

 the head, not towards either side. Skull flattening is now known to 

 be a common practice among the lower types of men ; it is even prac- 

 ticed at present near Marseilles, in France,* where it is probably a relic 

 of barbarism dating back to the Huns, who themselves obtained it from 

 an Asiatic source. The practice is said to be of Mongolian origin, and 

 is mentioned by early Greek and Koraan authors. The flattening in 

 the present instance was caused by the cradle-board, to which the In- 

 dian in his infancy, while his skull was still soft, had been tied. The 

 pressure of the hard board upon the soft head caused the flattening. 

 The cradle-board is a well-known factor in the Indian's life, and is 

 frequent in illustration of the Indian squaw with her dusky pappoose. 



The pottery fragments were quite abundant, especially so in the ashes 

 and in their immediate vicinity. The pieces seemed rarely to belong 

 together, and no entire pots were found, which would lead to the infer- 

 ence that the fragments were the remains of pots accidentally broken, 

 the larger pieces being thrown away, the smaller ones remaining in the 

 ashes, so that the broken pieces can*rarely be restored. The pottery of 

 Indians is well known to have been the work of their women. Its 

 quality varied considerably, but in general it may be said to have be- 

 come ruder in proportion to the distance of the tribes from Central 

 America, the great aboriginal art center. Ohio art is of quite a low 

 character, ornamentation being usually restricted to simple geometrical 

 figures consisting of parallel lines, either straight or curved, which meet 

 each other at various angles. The vast majority received no ornamenta- 

 tion whatever, and attempts at figures, human or of animals, are exceed- 

 ingly rare. No attempts at glazing were made; in a few specimens a 

 gloss is found, due to vitrifaction of the silicious element contained in 

 the clay used. No attempt at coloring is apparent, the variation of 

 color being due to the soil and materials used, and accidental rather 



* Smithsonian Report, 1859. 



