NO. 10 NEBRASKA ARCHEOLOGY — STRONG 187 



5 feet along the bank, lay directly above the upper ash stratum. It 

 had evidently been preserved by the layers of blue creek muck which 

 sealed it both from above and below. The reeds lay horizontally and 

 had been pressed into a solid mass with puddled mud somewhat re- 

 sembling bark. There was no evidence of the reeds having been woven 

 into mats, although two small fragments of fiber string were found 

 just below this layer. A large section of this thatch material was pre- 

 served, and samples were sent to Dr. Melvin R. Gilmore, who identi- 

 fied it as a large sedge {Scirpiis Huviatilis). Below the layer of thatch 

 and puddled mud was an ash layer and below this a blue creek muck 

 which also contained various artifacts. How far back into the bank 

 the reed layer continued was not determined. Conditions for the 

 preservation of material were remarkable, owing apparently to the 

 more rapid sealing up of the deposits in the blue muck. Besides the 

 reeds, numerous fragments of wood, bark, nuts, and fragile bird bones 

 were also recovered here. Owing to lack of time, however, this favor- 

 able circumstance could not be fully exploited. These fragmentary 

 observations indicate that small poles or posts were used in the 

 dwellings of the lower levels, that layers of large reeds were used for 

 roof material, and that bark may have been employed for wall ma- 

 terials. Samples of the many pieces of bark obtained in the lower 

 strata (especially at exposure lo) have been identified by Dr. Gilmore 

 as that of the cottonwood (Populus deltoides) and the white elm 

 ( Ulmus americana) . The exact nature and form of these dwellings 

 remain to be determined, but to judge by the size of hearth areas and 

 post molds, they were probably rather small. Such shelters dififer in 

 toto from all the later earth-lodge types in the region. 



Pottery 



The ceramic remains from the deep strata are very uniform and 

 differ markedly from any of the Nebraska ceramic types previously 

 described. Pottery is not very abundant but occurs scattered through 

 all of the deep ash layers. The following list indicates the amount 

 recovered in our own work at the site. 



Complete pots, i (found in gully at A, map, fig. 24, presented by 

 Dr. G. H. Gilmore). 

 ■ Restored pots, i. 



Total number of sherds, 275 (rim 11, body 264). 

 Plain-ware sherds, 272 (rim 11, body 261). 

 Straw-marked sherds, 3. 

 Cord-marked sherds, none. 

 Incised body sherds, none. 

 Sherds with slip, none. 



