REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 23 



of 200 Currier and Ives prints from a donor, who in addition lent 

 183 others. There came also as a loan the original camera believed 

 to have been used around 1836 by Dr. John W. Draper, the eminent 

 American chemist and physiologist, while a member of the faculty 

 of Hampden- Sydney College, Richmond, Va. 



History. — Nearly 1,600 objects of historic and antiquarian interest 

 were accessioned, including busts, costumes, or mementos of such 

 outstanding Americans as Abraham Lincoln, Mrs. Andrew Jackson 

 Donelson, Col. Samuel Simpson, William Jennings Bryan, Henry 

 B. F. Macfarland, and Brig. Gen. Caleb Cushing. The numismatic 

 collection was increased by 176 coins and medals, including a series 

 of United States bronze, nickel, and silver coins struck at the Denver, 

 Philadelphia, and San Francisco mints in 1914; and the philatelic 

 collection by 1,310 stamps and other items. 



EXPLORATIONS AND FIELD WORK 



Field exploration by the Museum's experienced staff and its col- 

 laborators continues as one of the most important sources for addi- 

 tions of new materials in the broad fields of anthropology, biology, 

 and geology. As in previous years this work was financed in the 

 main through funds provided by the Smithsonian Institution or 

 through interested friends of the Institution. The specimens 

 obtained have filled many gaps in the Museum's series. 



Anthropology. — During August and September, 1940, Dr. T. 

 Dale Stewart, associate curator of physical anthropology, continued 

 excavations at the historic Indian village site known as Patawomeke 

 on Potomac Creek, in Stafford County, Va., completely exploring 

 the ossuary discovered last year. The work this season yielded a 

 number of facts that verify or supplement the meager historical 

 records pertaining to the burial ceremonies of the Virginia tide- 

 water Indians. Of the approximately 100 skeletons encountered in 

 the ossuary, the majority had become disarticulated, or were dis- 

 articulated before burial. A few, however — approximately a dozen 

 adults — were observed to be fully articulated. These were found on 

 the bottom or along the sides of the pit and hence may have been 

 the first bodies received into the grave. Moreover, all these artic- 

 ulated skeletons are possibly males and had their arms extended 

 along their sides as do the bodies shown in John White's picture of 

 a death house, which was drawn during his visit to Roanoke Island 

 in 1585. Also, all these skeletons had their lower legs flexed un- 

 naturally forward, which would have been a practicable way for 

 shortening an extended body resting on its back. There is evidence, 

 on the other hand, that the disarticulated skeletons were exposed 



