ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION'S IN" MISSOURI 167 



an inch long, a few shell beads, a pot "holding a pint, with small pro- 

 jecting points at intervals around the outer edge of the rim" (Fowke, 

 1910, p. 41), two more entire vessels, and parts of at least two others 

 which had been broken. 



The other mounds of this group, covering an area about 400 yards 

 long, were of earth or of earth and rock. No. 7 contained a sort of 

 vault or large cist about 6 feet square, walled with slabs set on edge. 

 Below this was a grave with turtle shell and fragments of a pot. Other 

 pottery remains included "a broken pot with a square top, resembling 

 that shown in figure 1, except that the bottom, is somewhat pointed" 

 (Fowke, 1910, p. 29) from mound 5; a bowl of soft red pottery and 

 a "coconut pot" of li/^ pints capacity from mound 6 ; and three pots 

 from mound 8. From mound 6, also, came "many shell beads having 

 the border of the opening ground off" (Fowke, 1910, p. 30) and others 

 made of small seashells. Two chipped flints were found in mound 10. 

 Since none of the objects are figured or fully described, it is im- 

 possible to compare directly the vault finds with those from the other 

 mounds. 



At the Ewing site in Cole County, on the south side of the Missouri 

 just above the mouth of Osage River, 2 of 7 mounds examined were 

 found to have stone vaults. In mound 6 (Fowke, 1910, p. 14) the vault 

 was rectangular, with interior dimensions of 7i/^ by 4i^ feet ; the walls 

 varied in height from 1 to 3 feet, and there was no doorway. Within, 

 burnt earth carried in from the outside overlay a tightly flexed skele- 

 ton. On the original surface were remains of 3 or more extended 

 burials; these had been covered with a foot of earth on which 2 other 

 bodies had been placed. Single bones and fragments were scattered 

 through the fill. There were no artifacts. Mound 7 contained a cen- 

 tral chamber 8^,/^ by 7 feet; the walls, l^^ to 4 feet high, were pierced 

 with a doorway at the south side. In the vault were 2 extended skele- 

 tons, heads to the east, 10 or more skulls, and many other bones. There 

 was evidence of cremation. With one child's skeleton were 11 tubular 

 beads from 1 to II/2 inches long, fashioned from the columella of a 

 large marine shell. The remaining mounds of the group all con- 

 tained slab areas of varying proportions, and mound 1 yielded a few 

 nondiagnostic stone and bone objects. 



Chambered mounds have also been reported in Gasconade County, 

 south of the Missouri about the mouth of Gasconade River (fig. 20, 12). 

 The Uffman mound (Fowke, 1910, p. 9) had a rectangular enclosure 

 8 feet 6 inches long by 5 feet 4 inches wide (inside dimensions), and 

 about 30 inches high. Along the south side of the chamber, on the 

 original surface, was a pavement 6 feet long by 21/2 feet wide ; no ex- 

 planation for this is offered. The earth in the vault was mixed with 

 much charcoal, but the walls had been partially demolished by previous 

 excavators and no trace of bones or cultural material was noted. Smith 



