NO. lO NEBRASKA ARCHEOLOGY — STRONG 201 



artifacts. Below this occurred in sequence a stratum of hard gray 

 mixed earth of variable thickness (fig. 28), a brick-red stratum of 

 baked earth likewise varying in thickness, and a layer of apparently 

 unmixed yellow soil extending to the underlying Hmestone bed rock. 

 Two chipped stone artifacts, flakes of " Nehawka " flint, white quart- 

 zite or quartz crystal, and one flake of smoky black obsidian, besides 

 some scattered charcoal, occurred in the hard gray mixed layer (fig. 

 28, 2, 3, 4). Numerous slabs of limestone, both large and small, 

 occurred throughout this layer, some of these appearing in the cross- 

 section figured. The baked soil stratum was thickest near the center 

 and at a point about 3 feet south of the center underneath the frag- 

 mentary human skeletal remains. The latter occurred at a depth of 

 3 feet 6 inches and consisted of two very fragmentary adult skulls 

 and various long bones (fig. 28, i). These were extremely crumbly 

 and rather suggested two bundle burials side by side, though not all 

 the bones of both skeletons were present. The bones may have been 

 subjected to the action of fire in some degree, but owing to their 

 poor state of preservation, this could not be positively determined. 

 No artifacts were directly associated with the human remains. A 

 series of auger borings just south of the human bones struck the 

 underlying limestone formation at a depth of only 6 feet i inch below 

 the surface of the mound. The yellow soil below the burned area 

 appeared to be unmixed with any artificial matter. Another interesting 

 feature was a heap of large limestone slabs suggesting a cairn 

 (fig. 28) 9 feet south of the human remains and extending to the 

 east beyond the limits of the excavation. The 3-foot trench was 

 widened at this point as well as in the vicinity of the burials. However, 

 the slabs, when removed, appeared merely as an irregular heap over 

 the thin burned stratum, and neither artifacts nor human remains 

 were encountered. Possibly these may occur farther east than our 

 excavation extended. Likewise, the thickness of the burned stratum 

 near the center suggests similar deposits north of the limits of our 

 trench in that direction. As indicated in the diagram (fig. 28), the 

 burned stratum runs out just south of this rock pile, and there is no 

 clear line of distinction here between the dark gray upper and the 

 underlying yellow soil, which gradually blend together. 



From the scant evidence at our disposal I am inclined to believe that 

 mound 2 is of artificial origin. Although there are no clear lines of 

 soil distinction between the mound proper and the old soil level, there 

 is nevertheless the variable but extensive burned earth stratum which, 

 so far as our limited excavation extended, underlies all signs of human 

 activity. The human remains had been deposited on this stratum, 



