SOAPSTONE BUSHNELL 473 



the Indians, but no mention is known to have been made to the use 

 of soapstone; consequently, the great majority of fragments of such 

 vessels which are recovered from ancient sites are attributed to a 

 period before the coming of the whites. 



Another bit of evidence comes from a different source. Some 20 

 years ago archeological research in the Upper Tennessee Valley dis- 

 closed proof of three distinct periods of occupancy,^ the most recent 

 being that of the Olierokee. The form of burial practiced during the 

 earFiest of the three periods differed from the others. The graves 

 were cylindrical and of small diameter, and the remains were forced 

 into them after being closely bound with the chin between the knees. 

 The name "Eound Grave" was given to this culture by reason of the 

 distinctive form of burial. Many fragments of soapstone vessels 

 were found associated with material which belonged to the "Round 

 Grave people" — the earliest recognized culture in the Upper Tennessee 

 Valley — but no soapstone was encountered on sites attributed to the 

 later inhabitants of the region. Certain types of objects which be- 

 longed to the "Round Grave people" comiect them with "the Algon- 

 kian culture of the middle Atlantic seaboard and point to decided 

 influence if not to actual relationship." This suggests that the knowl- 

 edge of soapstone was carried southward by early Algonquian tribes 

 who entered the region centuries ago and from whom other groups 

 would have acquired the art of making soapstone vessels. 



WORK AT THE QUARRIES 



The quarrying of soapstone and the subsequent work necessary to 

 create the finished vessels were evidently the most laborious tasks per- 

 formed by the Indians who occupied or who visited the localities 

 where the material was obtained. The quarries, so numerous and 

 often of great size, extended for hundreds of miles from Alabama 

 to New England and had been frequented by different tribes through 

 many generations. Innumerable utensils had been formed at the 

 quarries and later carried to the distant villages, but more pieces had 

 been broken and left near the source of the stone. The latter, scattered 

 over the ground, are now weathered to the same degree as is the exposed 

 surface of the stone which remains in situ nearby. 



In some localities rough, irregular pieces of stone were taken from 

 the quarries, then trimmed and reduced to the desired size, and later 

 fashioned into smoothed vessels. This appears to have been the 

 practice when a new site was discovered, where pieces of stone pro- 

 truded from the surface and were easily detached, but the same method 



' Harrington, M. R., Cherokee and earlier remains on Upper Tennessee River. Indian 

 Notes and Monogr., Mus. Amor. Indian, Heye Found, 321 pp., 1922. 



