194 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 93 



(pumpkin), and Cucurbit a pcpo melopcpo (summer squash), but in earlier pre- 

 historic cultures Cucurbita maxima and Cucurbita pepo might be lacking, 

 [while] it appears that Cucurbita pepo metope po was not lacking in any cultures 

 which possessed corn and beans. 



Neither Sterns nor our party found any trace of either corn or beans 

 in the lower strata at this site. Considering the abundance of squash 

 and gourd seeds, both charred and uncharred, it seems remarkable 

 that neither corn nor bean remains were found. Perhaps future work 

 here may reveal examples of these plants, but until this occurs the 

 Sterns Creek culture must be listed as one having squash and gourds 

 in abundance but no corn or beans. 



Two species of nuts were recovered by us : the shells of the black 

 walnut (Jitglaiis nigra) and a few complete and fragmentary hickory 

 nuts (Carya niiiiiiiia) . One of the latter was stained a bright blue, 

 which gradually faded on exposure to the air. This nut came from 

 the blue creek muck under the upper occupation stratum at ex- 

 posure 10, and I suspect that this blue color was due to some natural 

 pigment in the clay. The thick masses of reed thatching composed 

 of horizontally laid blades of a large sedge {Scirpus flnviatilis) have 

 already been mentioned. In the puddled mud around and through this 

 thatch, blades of bluestem grass {Andropogon fur cat us) were dis- 

 tinguished by Dr. Gilmore. Careful work, especially in layers of blue 

 creek muck which are so favorable to the preservation of perishable 

 remains, will undoubtedly yield more evidence regarding both the 

 wild and the cultivated plants used by the Sterns Creek culture people. 



Anim.\l and Molluscan Remains 



Sterns (191 5 a, II, p. 189) mentions finding the remains of deer, 

 bison, elk, dog, small birds, and Unio shells, but no fish remains in 

 the lower stratum. In our excavations we found deer remains were 

 the most numerous, elk and bison rare, prong-horn antelope rare, great 

 blue heron (two skulls in exposure 10), and many bird and small 

 mammal bones. No fish remains were noticed. As already mentioned, 

 detailed identifications were impossible. Two species of moUusks 

 from the deep strata at the Walker Gilmore site were identified by 

 Dr. Frank C. Baker. These are Lampsilis ventricosa occideus (Lea) 

 and Ligumia recta latissima (Rafinesque). This does not complete the 

 list of molluscan species present in the lower strata but only those that 

 were included in the material sent to Dr. Baker. In general it appears 

 that the Sterns Creek culture people depended to a considerable ex- 

 tent on horticulture, raising squash and gourds but not corn or beans. 



