CRANIA F' R O M THE MOUNDS. 



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mica and in the centre of the burned deposit, was found the skull figured in the 

 plates. It was discovered resting upon its face. The lower jaw, as indeed the 



entire skeleton, excepting the clavicle, a few cervical vertebrae, and some of the 

 bones of the feet, all of which were huddled around the skull, were wanting. No 

 relics were found with the bones, except a few shells of the fresh-water molluscs 

 from the neighboring river. 



From the entire singularity of this burial it might be inferred that the deposit 

 was a comparatively recent one ; but the fact that the various layers of carbonace- 

 ous earth, stones, and clay were entirely undisturbed, and in no degree intermixed, 

 settles the question beyond doubt, that the skull was placed where it was found at 

 the time of the construction of the mound. Either, therefore, we must admit that 

 the skull is a genuine relic of the mound-builders proper, or assume the improbable 

 alternative that the mound in question does not belong to the grand system of 

 earthworks of which we have been treating. 



The skull is wonderfully well preserved ; unaccountably so, unless the circum- 

 stances under which it was found may be regarded as most favorable to such a 

 result. The imperviousness of the mound to water, from the nature of the material 

 composing it, and its position on the summit of an eminence subsiding in every 

 direction from its base, arc circumstances which, joined to the antiseptic qualities 

 of the carbonaceous deposit enveloping the skull, may satisfactorily account for 

 its excellent preservation. 



Of course no general conclusion as to the cranial characteristics of the ancient 

 people can be based upon a single skull. It may nevertheless not be wholly unim- 

 portant or uninteresting to notice particularly the more prominent peculiarities of 

 the specimen before us. The most striking feature is its extraordinary compactness 

 or roundness. This will best be illustrated by the measurements, which show the 

 vertical diameter to be 6.2 inches ; longitudinal diameter 6.5 inches ; inter-parie- 

 tal diameter 6 inches. The vertical occiput, the prominent vertex, and great 

 inter-parietal diameter, all of which are strongly marked in this skull, are, 

 according to Dr. Morton, features characteristic of the American race, but more 

 particularly of the family which he denominates the Toltecan, and of which the 

 Peruvian head may be taken as the type. This skull was accurately measured by 

 Dr. Morton, with the following results : 



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