[23] 



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should have been conceived and executed in so fruly philosophical a sp'rr'it ; and 

 rich as this age already is in antiquarian lore, it has, I think, received i'&w more 

 important contributions than that y/hich the enlightened and generotjs zeal of 

 these two private gentlemen is about to confer upon it. The Smithsonian col- 

 lections could not begin with a more appropriate or creditable essay ; and I 

 hope that evei7 focility may be afforded to the authors in bringing before the 

 public the results of their honorable labors in as suitable a form and « ith as 

 little delay as possible. 



GEO. P. MARSH. 



Philadelphia, June 8, 1847. 

 As a member of the committee of the American Ethnological Society, ap- 

 pointed to report on the memoir on American Archaeology, by Messrs. E. G. 

 SquiERand E. H. Davis, I have great pleasure in saying that after a careful and 

 repeated inspection of the materials in the hands of those gentlemen, I am con- 

 vinced they constitute by far the most important contribution to the Archae- 

 ology of the United States that has ever been offered to the public. Tiie num- 

 ber and accuracy of their plans, sketches, &c., have both interested and sur- 

 prised me, and it is gratifying to learn that the preliminary arrangements have 

 been made for their publication under the honorable auspices of the Smithso- 

 nian Institution. 



SAME. GEORGE MORTON. 



The memoirs of Messrs. Squierand Davis will occupy the greater portion, 

 if not the whole, of the first volume of the Contributions. T'he illustra- 

 tions will consist of fiftv-five quarto plates of the mounds, earthworks, and 

 maps of the adjacent country; also, of about two hundred wood cuts, 

 principally delineations of the various articles found in the mounds. 

 Those who consider no branch of knowledge of any value but such as 

 relates to the immediate gratification of our physical wants, have objected 

 to the acceptance of this memoir as one of the first publications of the 

 institution; but it must be recollected that the will of Smithson makes no 

 restriction in favor of any particular kind of knowledge, and that each 

 branch is, therefore, entitled to a share of his bequest. The Ethnological 

 memoir of Messrs. iSquier and Davis was the first, of the proper character, 

 presented for publication, and hence it was entitled to the first place in the 

 series of Smithsonian Contributions. Besides this, it furnishes an addition 

 to a branch of knowledge which is at this time occupying the attention of 

 a large class of minds, and which caimot fail to be interesting to every 

 intelligent person who would learn something of the changes to which 

 man has been subjected. 



One of the volumes of the Contributions will contain a sketch of the life 

 of Smithson, by the Chancellor. The materials for this have been col 

 lected from tlie several volumes of the Transactions of the Royal Society, 

 and the scientific journals of the beginning of the present, and the latter part 

 of the last century. The first volume will be published as soon as the 

 wood-cuts and plates, now in the course of preparation, are finished. 



Besides the memoirs before mentioned, a number of others have been 

 presented, some of which, though apparently of interest, and the product 

 of thought and labor, were not of the character required by the resolution 

 of the board, and these have either been returned to the authors, or are in 



