416 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1944 
the pit was open, geologists studied the deposits and came to the con- 
clusion that they were varved clays of a glacial lake, subsequently 
named Lake Pelican. There is no question about the identification of 
the silts, but there has been contention over the nature of the burial. 
Many think it was contemporaneous with the clays, and the testimony 
of the workmen and the highway engineer is good basis for such 
belief, while others hold that it must have been a later penetration. 
Furthermore, there has been contention as to whether it was inten- 
tional or accidental, whether the body had been placed in a grave or, 
as has been suggested, the girl fell from a boat or through a hole in 
the ice, drowned and sank to the bottom where she was covered with 
gradually settling sediment. The problem is complicated even more 
by arguments over possible evidence for slipping and disturbance in 
the clays and the chance that the skeleton may have been intrusive. 
Unfortunately, the issue can never be settled to the satisfaction of all 
because of the manner of its discovery and its location beneath a 
highway. 
The artifacts are of little help because similar antler and shell ob- 
jects might be found accompanying any burial in that region, even 
those dating as recently as early historic times. The fragments of 
bone from muskrat, wolf, loon, and turtle carapace also present in 
the pit are from species that could be Pleistocene but also are mod- 
ern and indicate climatic conditions little different from those of 
today, hence cannot be stressed as evidence. Because of all these fac- 
tors opinion is about equally divided; some consider the age as late 
Pleistocene and others as clearly Recent. Careful review of all 
phases of the problem, however, would seem to indicate that the prob- 
ability of a late Pleistocene dating outweighs that of a Recent age. 
The skeleton has a number of primitive features, the most outstand- 
ing being in the skull. The forehead is low and sloping, with promi- 
nent glabella. There is a backward extension of the cranial vault to a 
large occiput with a large projection to the rear and evidence for a 
high area of attachment for the neck muscles. The nose is relatively 
small and narrow, lacks a nasal sill, and has a poorly developed nasal 
spine. There are deep subnasal gutters, and there is marked alveolar 
prognathism. Obvious lack of reduction is apparent in the jaws and 
teeth, a feature usually considered definitely primitive. The lower 
molars in absolute size are larger than any of those in the lower 
jaws of 10 late Pleistocene men in Europe, and this in conjunction 
with other less developed characteristics is regarded as good evidence 
for the remains being those of an early type of modern man. There 
is no reason from the standpoint of their osteology why they could 
not be as old as the silts indicate. On the other hand they do fall 
within the range of variation in the modern Sioux and are believed 
