ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN IVUSSOURI 69 



of these holes measured 15 inches across by 16 to 20 inches deep. The 

 secondary and outer series of post holes lay at and just inside the 

 edge of the pit. These occurred at intervals of 2 to 4 feet; wider 

 spacing probably indicates failure to locate the former position of 

 a post or posts. They measured about 6 inches in diameter and 

 6 to 10 inches in depth. Not all the original holes in this series 

 could be found, though enough came to light to permit determina- 

 tion of the approximate location of the missing ones. The long 

 axis of the floor was north to south, and at the south end two con- 

 verging lines of small holes defined an entrance passage approxi- 

 mately 3 feet wide by 10 feet long. The floor of the passage sloped 

 upward toward the ground surface, but owing to modern farming 

 activities its outer end could not be determined with certainty. 



Midway between the two primary post holes in the northeast and 

 northwest quadrants, and 5 feet due north of the hearth, was found 

 a fifth hole, 18 inches across by 16 inches deep. Its purpose is un- 

 certain, though I am inclined to suspect that it may have held a 

 post set up to support a sagging beam. About 4 feet south of the 

 fireplace was another hole of about the same size, not, however, in 

 line with the south pair of primary supports. This may have been 

 a small cache. A similar feature occurs rather consistently in the 

 same relative position in prehistoric earth-lodges in the Blue River 

 drainage and elsewhere in southeastern Nebraska, but direct evi- 

 dence as to its meaning is still wanting.^ 



There is some reason to believe the house may have been damaged 

 or partially destroyed by fire, since a 2- to 4-inch layer of burnt 

 grass, twigs, and sticks was found just above the floor. The general 

 absence of charred beams and posts, however, does not favor the view 

 of its abandonment and destruction entirely by fire, and it is possible 

 that the burning took place after the superstructure had collapsed 

 through the slower agencies of decay. Artifacts were generally rare 

 on the floor itself, and, aside from the two small pits just noted, there 

 were no sub-floor caches in the house. A sandstone slab measuring 

 16 by 8 inches, perhaps for grinding or pounding purposes, lay on 

 the floor near the northwest center post hole. It is shown in situ in 

 plate 21, b; a short time later, while we were occupied with other 

 matters, the slab was carried away by souvenir hunters along with 

 several surveyor's arrows and other conveniently portable items. 



From ground surface to floor level the fill within the house pit 

 was mixed with broken pottery, projectile points and flints, bits of 

 charcoal and wattling clay, and similar debris. The relative abun- 

 dance of this debris in the east half of the excavation led us to believe 

 for a time that we had found a deep midden — a belief that was given 



* Unpublished notes of A. T. Hill, who suggests the possibility that these pits mark the 

 former position of upright wooden mortars set into the floor. 



