NO. lO NEBRASKA ARCHEOLOGY STRONG 157 



length to reach from post to post and to the edges of the pit. Such 

 an arrangement, owing to the spacing of the assumed central posts, 

 would have given an odd effect and a rather flat roof. With so little 

 internal evidence to go on, it is perhaps futile to attempt too detailed 

 a reconstruction. Careful and complete excavation of a few similar 

 houses in which the entire floor is bared instead of trenched should 

 settle these questions. 



It is probable, from the small fragment of charred post just below 

 the floor line and a number of fragmentary charred beams in the 

 mixed layer above the floor, which presumably is composed of roof 

 material, that this lodge was burned down during or just after its 

 last occupation. The presence of one complete pot in cache i, as well 

 as fairly numerous artifacts in the house generally, suggests the same 

 explanation. That comparatively little charred wood remains in the 

 pit may have resulted from the fact that when the roof collapsed, 

 the earth covering probably put out the fire, leaving most of the wooden 

 framework uncharred and hence unprotected from decay. 



Storage or Cache Pits 



As already indicated, three cache pits occurred in house 2 (fig. 19). 

 Of these, cache i was clearly defined and contained more numerous 

 artifacts than the others. It was cylindrical in outline, having a 

 diameter of 32 inches and a depth of 6 feet 10 inches from the sur- 

 face and 4 feet from the floor level. The neck of cache i was full 

 of cultural detritus, suggesting that toward the last it had been used 

 as a refuse pit. In the central portion just below the old floor line 

 was a small round secondary excavation in the refuse about 12 inches 

 in diameter and 14 inches deep. It contained nothing more significant 

 than ashes, stones, and potsherds. The composition of the main pit 

 was largely of mixed dark ash, earth, and cultural debris. Near the 

 bottom was a 3-inch lens of white ash in which was one small com- 

 plete pot and various other artifacts. There was a clear distinction 

 between the cylindrical cache pit and the surrounding yellow clay. 

 The following material was recovered from this pit : i small com- 

 plete pot, many potsherds, i broken scapula hoe, 2 bone awls, i antler 

 shaft straightener, i antler tapping tool, i small bone pendant, 

 2 chipped arrowpoints, 2 end scrapers, i chipped stone awl, 2 lumps 

 of red paint, i large lump of baked clay, 20 various sized stones, and 

 numerous bird, animal, and molluscan remains. 



Cache 2 was puzzling (figs. 19, 21). It consisted of a disturbed 

 area about 6 feet in diameter and extended to a depth 7 feet 6 inches 

 below the surface or 5 feet below floor line. There was no very 

 clear line of demarcation between the mixed and unmixed yellow clay 



