RIVER BASIN SURVEYS — F. H. H. ROBERTS 375 



the skeleton was semiflexed, lying on its left side. Kows of shell-disk 

 becads in alignment were around the skeleton in the pelvic area. Other 

 rows extended up the chest and around the neck. Many of the rows 

 consisted of beads that were well ground and evenly matched, while 

 others contained blanks that had been perforated and strung but had 

 not been given the final smoothing that is typical of a finished bead. 

 Triangular shell pendants were found in the vicinity of the skull. 

 In addition to the shell-disk beads there were worked sections from 

 marine shells. The skeleton was removed intact in a plaster cast and 

 has been prepared as a special exhibit of one form of burial. As far 

 as could be determined from the scattered bones, at least 61 individuals 

 had been placed in the basin and pits. Artifacts associated with the 

 bones suggest that the people belonged to an early variant of the 

 Woodland culture. 



In the McNary Reservoir basin on the Columbia Kiver two ceme- 

 teries adjacent to village sites were investigated. At one of them 50 

 graves were found, while at the other three were 17, as Avell as traces 

 of some cremations. At the large cemetery the bodies of many of the 

 adults were placed in plank cists, a feature that is more or less typical 

 of the recent Plateau culture. Funerary offerings accompanying the 

 skeletons consisted of both native artifacts and white trade goods. 

 The presence of Colonial uniform buttons made as early as 1750 and 

 the absence of firearms used in that area beginning in 1811 indicate 

 that the plank cists probably fall within a period slightly after 1750 

 and prior to 1810. A single burial complex apparently is represented 

 by the cemetery. The skeletal material is important because thus far 

 sufficient remains for a study of the physical characteristics of the 

 people living there have not been available. Furthermore, since the 

 bones represent a single closely dated sample, they are particularly 

 useful. In all, 57 individuals are represented by the bones from the 

 50 graves. Thirty-seven are adults, while the remainder are children 

 and infants. There is not sufficient knowledge of the physical char- 

 acteristics of the people of the area to permit tribal identification, but 

 it seems certain that they belong to one of the middle Columbia 

 Sahaptin groups. The skulls all show artificial cranial deformation. 

 In some cases the deformation is only a flattening of the occiput, while 

 in others the deformation is of the fronto-vertico-occipital variety. 

 It is interesting to note that the latter occurs more frequently on the 

 female skulls than on the male and that the female skulls are more 

 highly deformed. A few pathological changes are indicated by the 

 skeletons but they are confined for the most part to middle-aged or 

 older individuals. The chief ailment from which the people appear 

 to have suffered was of an arthritic nature. Most of the adults show 

 considerable wearing away of the teeth but dental caries were not 



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