418 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1954 



remained to be recovered. The writer had observed during the course 

 of the sounding that the moist, loamy earth was not especially good 

 for bone preservation, and that many of the fragmentary mammalian 

 bones in the same stratmn as those of the child were very poorly 

 preserved. 



The legs may have been doubled upward originally, and twisted to 

 the side by the overlying earth. The length of the burial on the long 

 axis measured 1 foot 14 inch (31.12 cm.). Its greatest width, across 

 the lower extremities (from the feet to the pelvic girdle), was 71^ 

 inches (19.05 cm.). The skeletal remains were about 1% inches 

 (4.45 cm.) thick at the maximum section. The arms were poorly pre- 

 served and defined, but sufficient bones of the right hand remained 

 to show that the fingei-s of that hand had been closed with the palm 

 upward. The pelvic girdle and vertebrae were very poorly preserved 

 and could not be saved. The rib bones had disappeared. 



A careful search around the remains revealed no associated arti- 

 facts with several possible exceptions. A small block-shaped frag- 

 ment of limestone lay at the left heel. Adjacent to this stone was found 

 a small nodule of black carboniferous substance measuring one-half 

 inch (1.27 cm.) by three-quarters of an inch (1.91 cm.). A large flint 

 was found 2 inches (5.08 cm.) to the east of the head, and a fragment 

 of a mammal bone was found an inch (2.54 cm.) to the east of the 

 left knee. Another smaller fragment of burned bone was found near 

 the right arm. These bones and the flint appear to have been part 

 of the normal occupational layer, and not items meant to be associ- 

 ated with the child's remains. However, it is possible that the piece 

 of limestone and the associated carboniferous substance may have 

 been intentionally interred with the remains. The mixed, dark loamy- 

 earth stratum in which the skeleton was found abounded in occupa- 

 tional debris, and included fragments of mammal bones, flints, flecks 

 of charcoal, and fragments of limestone. The limestone fragments 

 were not abundant by comparison with the amounts encountered from 

 other depths. The unbroken lens of a firebed lay at a depth of 24.5 

 feet (7.47 m.) below datum, just about over the child's remains, which 

 precludes the possibility of an intrusive burial. The skeleton must be 

 identified with the stratum in which it lay. 



The skeleton is represented by 68 bones and bone fragments. There 

 are 8 finger bones and finger-bone fragments; 11 whole and fragmen- 

 tary left leg bones and metatarsals ; 18 whole and fragmentary right leg 

 bones and metatarsals ; and 31 cranial fragments. Sixteen milk teeth 

 are represented, including 4 first incisors, 3 second incisors, 3 canines, 

 3 first molars, and 3 second molars. 



Since the bones have not been studied anatomically in detail, or 

 compared with other Paleolithic finds, no statement can be made con- 



