290 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. 



destruction by fire, without the access of oxygen, could give rise to such 

 a quantity of empyreumatic or tarry vapor as to effect this discoloration. 



The portion of a tibia found in the oven was about four inches long, 

 and was from the middle third of the bone. Though it was exceedingly 

 brittle and friable, it did not seem to have been exposed to the action of 

 fire ; if so, it was not blackened like the other bones. This small frag- 

 ment of bone proved of considerable interest for the following reasons : 

 First, its medullary cavity was traversed by a small fibre of a root, which 

 had penetrated this depth (seven feet), perforating in its passage down- 

 wards the layer of hard burned clay, thus showing that this bone was 

 placed there before the growth of the present forest, and perhaps before 

 one that may have preceded this, as there were on the surface some old 

 rotten stumps of large oak trees. Second, its surface showed distinct 

 marks of some cutting instrument ; these marks were evidently old, and 

 could not have been made by the spade, as from its very friable nature^ 

 the bone would have been crushed by the first blow ; it is probable that 

 these marks or cuts are the result of a cleaning process the bones under- 

 went before being exposed to the action of the fire. Third, the tibia, to 

 the unassisted eye, showed a high degree of flattening or platycnemism, 

 and such was the case, for upon measurement the antero-posterior and 

 the transverse diameters were found to be .033 m. and .01-5 m., thus 

 giving an index of .4-5. This is the smallest index found in the measure- 

 ments at this Academy, being below the average found by Gilman of 

 tibije from the Detroit mounds (.48), and approaching very closely the 

 measurements of his celebrated tibiae from the River Rouge, the smallest 

 indices known, viz : .40 and .42. 



Here is a mass of drift-clay, which we have exposed for some hours 

 to the heat of a fire of coke in an open grate, which, as we see, is very 

 similar in color and appearance to the pieces of the cremation mound, 

 which are exhibited with it. 



In the vicinity are many common burial mounds, probably erected by 

 the same people, but this cremation mound must have been built for a 

 particular purpose ; but whether the ceremony was to honor or disgrace 

 the deceased, whether the bones were those of conquered enemies, or 

 those of the lower classes (servants) of their own nation and tribe, it is 

 difficult, if not impossible, now to determine. 



The proceeding was probably as follows : A large open fire was kin- 

 dled, and the bodies of the deceased were burnt to a certain degree, 

 together with some other bones in the dry state. Afterwards the still 

 glowing fire was covered with earth or clay, and this covering was beaten 

 a little, or to a certain consistence ; then the mound was filled up to its 

 intended height, and immediately finished. This is proved by the traces 

 of fire in the burnt clay, which appear as dark streaks, showing clearly 

 the passage of smoke, fire and heat. These views are not in the least 

 contradicted by the illustration of a cremation in our tablet ; on the con- 

 trary, that representation of the ceremony and this newly explored cre- 

 mation mound certainly bear a close relation to each other. 



