NO. 10 



NEBRASKA ARCHEOLOGY — STRONG 



119 



5 feet from the present surface. Although the bottom foot of the 

 pit was in hard undisturbed soil, above this, on the west, the pit 

 merged into an area of originally disturbed soil through which were 

 scattered a few beads and bone fragments (fig. 12). Whether this 

 original disturbance between the pits extended toward pit 2 is un- 

 certain, owing to the later excavations. Pit 4 was oval in outline, 

 4 feet by 3 feet 6 inches in horizontal dimensions, and 5 feet 6 inches 

 deep. The bottom was slightly concave, as in the other pits. Like 

 pit 3, the bottom i foot 6 inches extended into undisturbed soil, but 

 above this depth pit 4 merged into an originally disturbed area con- 

 taining some bones and beads (fig. 12). In both pits 3 and 4 the 

 greater number of bones and beads were concentrated on and just 

 above the bottom, whereas the slight mixture above this and between 

 the pits was haphazard. 



L M N 



A7/X£0 SOIL 



Pf^EV/OUSLY 



DUC> f\NO /' 



REF/LLEO ;PIT_,., p,.p^ 



;cOMCf NT(^ATlO^(. . , ^. ,,,..,, .'.'----' '.CONCEnTRATk 



HARD WHITE- UNDISTURBED SOIL ' 80NES«-BE 



Fig. 12. — Cross-section of Marshall site. Hachures indicate unexcavated soil. 



Within the pits the human remains wefe massed in the bottom 

 2 feet and with them were large quantities of shell beads. As can be 

 seen (pi. 10, fig. 3), there was no natural grouping of the bones. They 

 had been thrown in en masse, and both under and over them shell 

 beads had been scattered apparently by the handful. Occasionally 

 short strings of evenly matched beads were noted in situ, but as a rule 

 the beads, both bored and unbored, were in heaps. Bones of all sorts 

 were intermingled, and each pit contained the remains of numerous 

 individuals. Many of the bones were broken and some were burned. 

 Likewise many of the beads were calcined. No complete skulls were 

 found, and skull and jaw fragments were rare, Mr. Hill and 

 Mr. Brooking of Hastings, Nebr., earlier obtained one adult skull at 

 this site, which is now in the Hastings Museum. From pits 2, 3, and 4 

 at least 5,000 shell beads were recovered, as well as two large boxes 

 of human bones. No detailed study of the human remains has yet been 

 possible, but they await further research in the Nebraska State 

 Museum, 



