REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 23 



jectives during this expedition were to verify the existence of a pre- 

 Aleut stock, characterized by oblong-headed skeletons; to determine 

 definitely whether the Commander Islands in the U. S. S. R. could 

 have served as a second migration route for the coming of man from 

 Asia; and to reexamine the burial caves on several islands of the 

 Aleutian Chain. Rock shelters on Shiprock Island were first re- 

 visited, and several days were spent on the south shore of Amlia 

 and the little island of Ilak. Three weeks were occupied in the 

 excavation of pre-Aleut sites on Amchitka Island, and several more 

 weeks were devoted to the extensive site near the village of Nikolski 

 on the island of Umnak. A large series of skeletons was obtained, 

 together with many bone and stone implements, large bone harpoon 

 points, and several decorated ivory artifacts. From Umnak the 

 expedition was transported on the Coast Guard vessel Shoshone to 

 the Commander Islands, where the party spent 5 days. Dr. Hrdlicka 

 was able to examine all the more likely locations for prehistoric 

 settlements. After careful examination of these sites, he was con- 

 vinced that all dated from the Russian period, and the burials located 

 were found to be those of Aleuts brought there in the early part of 

 the nineteenth century by the Russians. No trace of pre-Russian 

 habitations could be found on either Bering or Copper Islands. This 

 substantiated the previous investigations of Dr. Leonhard Stejneger, 

 who between 1882 and 1922 made several visits to the Commander 

 Islands. During the return trip several stops were made at various 

 islands in the Aleutian Chain. This year's explorations completed 

 the present series in the Alaska work, begun by the Smithsonian 

 Institution in 1926. The results will contribute substantial facts to 

 more detailed investigations. 



At the close of the fiscal year Dr. Hrdlicka was visiting the U. S. 

 S. R. by way of Europe in order to examine and study the skeletal 

 material and associated material culture on exhibition in the various 

 large museums. He was f ortunte in finding sizeable collections made 

 by the Russians from various sections of Siberia, which may con- 

 tribute to his Alaskan research. 



During September and October Dr. T. Dale Stewart, Associate 

 Curator of Physical Anthropology, continued excavations at the In- 

 dian site on Potomac Creek in Stafford County, Va. In describing 

 his trip up the Potomac River in 1608, Capt. John Smith stated that 

 one of the Indian villages on the west shore, named Patawomeke, had 

 160 to 200 able men (upward of 1,000 inhabitants) ; it seems thus to 

 have been the largest village along the river at the time, but there is 

 little information regarding the village, and the date of its abandon- 

 ment by Indians remains unknown. Inspection of Smith's map of 

 the Potomac River, on which Patawomeke appears as a king's resi- 



