146 



THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



of things below the sod is to test with a spade or a crowbar. If shells are 

 present, their crunching soon gives notice of the fact. Sometimes shell 

 heaps have been located by shells thrown from mole and woodchuck bur- 

 rows, or by outcropping in gullies washed by the rain, or banks broken 

 down by the surf. They are generally located near some creek or bay on 

 low but dry ground, preferably with an eastern or southern exposure, and, 

 as before mentioned, not far from drinking water. Some have been found 

 fronting on the open Sound, but such cases are rare. These deposits con- 

 sist of large quantities of decayed oyster, clam and other marine shells 

 mixed with stained earth, with here and there ashes, charcoal and fire- 

 broken stones to mark the spots where ancient camp fires blazed. Among 



FIG. 4. CROSS SECTION OF A SHELL PIT. 



the shells are usually scattered antlers of deer, fish bones, bones of animals 

 and birds split for the marrow, quantities of pottery fragments, and broken 

 implements, in short, the imperishable part of the camp refuse left by the 

 Indians. Now and then, perfect implements and ornaments that had been 

 carelessly lost in the rubbish or hidden for safe-keeping are discovered. 

 Little did the Indian think, as he laid away his little hoard, that his handi- 

 work would never see light again until he and his people had long been gone 

 and forgotten. 



Shell heaps vary from a few inches to four feet in depth, and in area from 

 a few square yards to several acres — all depending on the length of time 

 the settlement was occupied and the number of dwellings comprising it. 

 Deep shell heaps are often divided into layers, the lowest of which are, of 



