AECHEOLOGICAL PROJECTS STIRLING 383 



Mound No. ^. — This mound is located in the northwest quarter of 

 section 23, township 33 S., range 21 E., about 400 yards north of the 

 south fork of the Little Manatee River. The mound is composed of 

 a rather fine buff-colored sand, and is 80 feet in diameter and 7 feet 

 high. 



The burials throughout the mound were so badly decomposed that 

 many were no longer recognizable. However, 89 burials were defi- 

 nitely identified. The form of burial was difficult to ascertain, but 

 it is certain that the interments were secondary. In some instances 

 the bones were burned, but none appeared to be true cremations. The 

 sand around the burials was stained with red ochre. 



Artifacts were very scarce. Pottery consisted of not more than a 

 dozen sherds, including one nearly complete small check stamped 

 bowl. Another small bowl of good quality ware was decorated 

 with closely spaced vertical parallel incised lines. Two large frag- 

 ments of a very thick and heavy vessel of crude cooking ware were 

 found ; these are the thickest pottery fragments I have ever seen in 

 Florida. The ware is of the usual two types of this region, 

 untempered muck ware and clay ware. 



Stone objects consisted of a highly polished plummet of a fine- 

 grained gray stone and arrowheads. Fragments of conch shell, prob- 

 ably parts of shell bowls, were found occasionally throughout the 

 mound. One shark tooth was found with a burial. 



This mound appears to be the oldest of the group excavated on the 

 south fork of the Little Manatee River. There were no objects of 

 European manufacture present, and although the state of preserva- 

 tion of skeletal material is not a certain criterion of age, it is worthy 

 of mention that the skeletal material here was so disintegrated as to 

 have almost disappeared. 



Because of the scarcity of pottery, it is difficult to establish the 

 cultural relationship of the site. However, I should estimate that the 

 mound was erected during the late fifteenth century. 



ENGIiEWOOD MOUND, SARASOTA COUNTT 



This mound is located on the mainland about 150 yards from the 

 east shore of Lemon Bay and about one-half mile south of the 

 town of Englewood. It was constructed entirely of sand and was 

 110 feet in diameter and 13 feet high. Considerable pitting had been 

 done on the top, so that the original height was probably somewhat 

 greater. 



Near the site are two deep depressions from which the sand com- 

 prising it had been obtained. One of these lies just to the north of 

 the mound and the other near its eastern margin. Complete exca- 

 vation of the site revealed that the visible portion had been super» 



