430 ETHNOLOGY. 



On the sides of all of the mounds, aud iu their vicinity, are found 

 great numbers of relics, such as human bones, arrow-heads, " plumb- 

 bobs" very i>erfect iu form, and immense quantities of broken pottery. 

 Many of the pieces of pottery are highly ornamented. From the quan- 

 tity of pottery, I imagine there must have been a factory of this ware 

 in thi§ locality. Excavations would in all probability reveal some very 

 valuable and interesting specimens, and I think it should be done by 

 one accustomed to searching for archaeological remains. 



PKE-HISTOPJC REMAINS FOUND IN THE VICINITY OF THE CITY OF WASH- 



INGTON, D. C. 



By T. R. Peale. 



The positions chosen by the ancient inhabitants of this country for 

 their temporary or i)ermanent occupation were generally at the mouth 

 of smaller streams emptying into larger ones, or on jutting points of 

 land favorably situated for hunting and lishing, and which could be 

 readilj' defended against the attacks of an enemy. Wherever such 

 places occur, in almost any part of the United States, remains of the 

 ancient inhabitants are to be found in greater or less numbers. These 

 remains are, as a general rule, more numerous on the border of fresh- 

 water streams in the interior of the country than on the coast, which 

 appears to have been visited periodically for fishing in the intervals 

 perhaps of the hunting seasons and those of the cultivation of Indian 

 corn. The stone implements may also be found in less numbers along 

 tlie southern coast, because the minerals out of which they were fabri- 

 cated do not exist on the sea-board much south of the latitude of the 

 city of New York. 



The site of the city of Washington, and its vicinity, must have 

 been a favorite locality for at least the temporary residence of the 

 ancient people, since the remains of their implements are found in 

 great numbers at different points, especially along the rive-r. It does 

 not appear that the implements were manufactured here, as heaps of 

 the dchria or chippings are not met with, as in other localities. It is 

 probable, however, that some of the arrow-points were made here, for 

 though the material of which they are composed is not found in place, 

 yet the^' occur in suflicient quantity in the bowlders of the northern drift, 

 ■which appears to be terminated in the interior of the country, in about 

 this latitude. That part of the city on which the arsenal stands, called 

 Greeuleaf's Point, was evidently a camping ground, since numerous 

 specimens of arrow-heads and other perfect articles have been found 

 in this locality. The point of land at the mouth of what was called the 

 Tiber, near the Washington monument, is another locality on which 

 specimens of the kind in question are found. But I have found the 



