174 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 93 



animal bones, potsherds, stones, and artifacts, occurring on both sides 

 of the fireplace and being especially numerous in the west end of the 

 house. The bones were for the most part brown and very crumbly 

 from charring, and various ages and both sexes were represented. 

 Fragments of a half dozen adult and immature skull caps, leg bones 

 broken in sections, isolated mandibles, and other bones occurred hap- 

 hazardly over the floor. No evidence of regularly laid out or aligned 

 skeletal parts could be distinguished. In the west end of the house 

 these human bones occurred with other intrusive material to a depth 

 of at least a foot below the apparent floor line. 



The usual explanation for the occurrence of charred and broken 

 human bones amidst other camp refuse, i. e., cannibalism, may of 

 course be invoked. If so, it seems extremely peculiar that the local 

 people would have left human jaws and skull fragments underfoot ; 

 or, assuming that conquering enemies had eaten the original occupants 

 of the lodge prior to firing it. that they would have taken parts of 

 their victims' bodies up and buried them in the '* mounds ". Con- 

 sidering the haphazard distribution of human skeletal remains in the 

 " mounds " as well as on the house floor, it would seem more rational 

 to regard house i as a charnel house of some sort connected with the 

 burial rites of the local people. Perhaps bodies were stored here for 

 the purpose of stripping the flesh from the bones prior to their ulti- 

 mate disposal in ossuaries, a practice commonly reported for certain 

 tribes of the Southeast. The evidences of residence in the house may 

 have accumulated prior to its becoming a charnel house, or it may 

 have served both purposes, however unpleasantly, at the same time. 

 That some sort of ceremonial cannibalism may have been indulged 

 in is, of course, quite possible, but it is hard to believe that the 

 occurrence of so many human bones in this house was a mere by- 

 product of culinary activity. 



To my mind the situation here imperfectly revealed gives a glimpse 

 into the nature of the burial complex of the Nebraska culture people 

 rather than of the cannibalistic tendencies of either themselves or their 

 enemies. Certain it is that when house i burned down, there were 

 numerous human remains on the floor, but whether these were already 

 ultimately disposed of in the house or whether they were awaiting 

 transportation to the hilltop ossuaries at the time of the fire are ques- 

 tions that remain obscure. The Saunders site has a double interest, 

 since it reveals suggestive evidence regarding the cult of the dead in 

 the Nebraska culture and also in regard to the oval-shaped earth 

 lodge which we partially excavated. Of the seven earth lodges per- 

 taining to this culture partially or wholly excavated by the Survey 



