376 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1951 



common and when they were present apparently were due to the ex- 

 posure of the tooth pulp through the grinding off of the enamel from 

 the molar surfaces. Studies of the remains of the 17 individuals 

 from the other cemetery have not been completed, but in the main 

 they should show much the same features as the others. 



Higher up the Columbia Kiver at many village locations the main 

 form of burial appears to have been in rock cairns. A large number 

 of the latter were examined in several reservoir areas, but in virtually 

 every case it was found that they had been disturbed by curio hunters 

 and little remained of the contents. Funerary offerings had been re- 

 moved and the bones scattered and broken so that they are of no value 

 for study purposes. 



At the Buggs Island Keservoir on the Roanoke River in southern 

 Virginia a relatively large number of burials were found at two sites. 

 The burials were not in what might properly be termed cemeteries 

 but were scattered in and around the village areas. In some cases 

 they were in refuse middens ; in others they were found beneath floors 

 of the houses. At one of the sites just east of Clarksville, Va., 77 

 burials with accompanying artifacts were exhumed. At another on 

 Occaneechi Island not far from Clarksville 44 were found. The latter 

 were interesting because not only were there examples of practically 

 all forms of body placement ranging from the fully flexed to the ex- 

 tended, but in addition there was evidence of partial cremations. At 

 the Occaneechi Island site a number of burials had turtle carapaces as 

 funerary offerings. In that connection it has been suggested that they 

 may have had totemic significance and indicated that the owners had 

 been members of the turtle clan. If such a postulation is correct, that 

 is the first definite evidence for attempts to designate clan affiliations 

 in the Southeast. Study of the bones has not been completed but 

 enough has been done on them to show that useful data will be forth- 

 coming and that they will provide an excellent source of information 

 on the physical types of the people living in that area in pre-Colonial 

 times. 



HISTORIC SITES 



In comparison with investigations at aboriginal locations, work in 

 historic sites was not extensive. At the Wliitney Reservoir in Texas, 

 however, studies were made at the Towasli Village, the remains of an 

 early white settlement on the Brazos River dating from the 1840's to 

 recent times. The first dam and bridge on the Brazos River were lo- 

 cated there, and their ruins, as well as those of the old stone store and 

 church, were still to be seen. Measurements and photographs were 

 taken in order to make scale drawings of the buildings. The location 

 and general nature of the other structures pertaining to the community 



