NO. lO NEBRASKA ARCHEOLOGY STRONG IO7 



covering, the skull was completely smashed. The ribs, vertebrae, and 

 some of the long bones were present. As in the preceding case, this 

 skeleton had been put into the general pit, no indication of individual 

 burial or of grave gifts being present. One fragment of a child's 

 calvarium was found at a depth of 4 feet, about 7 feet west of the 

 skeleton just described. It had been carried down a large rodent bur- 

 row and may originally have been with the near-by infant remains. 



As previously stated, no adult human remains were found in defi- 

 nite association. The skull of an adult male was found at a depth of 

 3 feet in the central part of the pit. The completely inverted position 

 of the skull in situ is clearly indicated in the illustration (pi. 8, fig. 4). 

 Near this skull were found three human mandibles in a good state of 

 preservation. In the northwest corner of the pit at a depth of 14 

 inches was an adult female skull likewise in a good state of preserva- 

 tion. Three fragmentary adult skulls were also encountered at depths 

 of 8, 10, and 12 inches, respectively. Besides these skeletal remains, 

 human bones of every sort were found at all depths throughout the 

 pit area. The random distribution of these bones is clearly indicated 

 by the diagram and photographs (fig. 10 and pi. 8, figs. 3, 4). All the 

 projections shown in the photograph of the trench wall (pi. 8, fig. 3) 

 are human bones as they occurred in situ in a hitherto undisturbed 

 section of the pit. In all, two large boxes were filled with these 

 skeletal remains. It is significant that many of the bones were more 

 or less slightly scorched or charred. None, however, were completely 

 burned. There was no evidence that these had been burned in situ ; 

 rather they appeared to have been scorched (perhaps by prairie 

 fires) at a time prior to their disposal in the pit. 



Owing to lack of adequate laboratory space and anthropometric 

 instruments, no detailed study of these remains was attempted, but 

 they are preserved in the Nebraska State Museum for future reference. 



Disregarding for the moment the artifacts associated with the 

 human remains, there were few other features worthy of comment. 

 It should be noted, however, that a considerable number of rocks of 

 varying sizes were scattered throughout the pit. These are not natural 

 in this hilltop soil and were obviously placed in the pit by human 

 agency. Their purpose is unknown. Charcoal occurred in small frag- 

 ments throughout the pit area. There was no concentration of charcoal 

 and ash nor any fireplaces, and it would appear that the charcoal was 

 more or less accidentally mixed with the earth used to cover the bones. 

 The same explanation probably holds for the few animal bones (other 

 than rodent) occasionally found in the pit. Like the charcoal, these 



