1 62 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



back wall, and 30 feet from the overhanging ledge to the ground be- 

 low. The stream that had carved this huge recess was no longer visi- 

 ble, but the spring issuing out of the foot of the slope 25 feet below 

 the cave's mouth may be a remnant of it. Thus a large dry shelter 

 was left which was admirably suited to human occupancy. 



It took us nearly three weeks to clear this cavern and remove the 

 piles of ash, charcoal, dust, and dirt that had accumulated in places 

 to a depth of 5 feet on the floor. The highest part of the deposit was 

 at the front of the cave where a ridge had been built up across the 

 mouth by rocks and earth falling from the cliff. Some of these fallen 

 blocks were so large that it would have required dynamite to dislodge 

 them ; therefore only those were attempted that could be removed after 

 breaking with a sledge hammer. 



Ten burials were uncovered, comprising probably 12 persons. They 

 were all in the flexed position except one individual, a male, whose 

 bones had evidently been tied in a bundle and dropped into a hole 

 where they were found partly resting on the flexed skeleton of a 

 female. The ubiquitous " treasure hunter," the bane of archeologists, 

 had been at work in the back part of the cavern and had disturbed 

 and broken up the bones of several burials. Of those burials which 

 could be identified there were three adults, two of them males ; one 

 adolescent male ; and six very young children and infants. The bones 

 of a dog were found near one of the child burials in a position which 

 indicated careful interment with the forelegs crossed over the hind- 

 legs. This would seem to indicate domestication of the dog as a pet 

 among these primitive cave dwellers, especially as no fragments of 

 burned or broken dog bones occurred in the refuse heaps. The burials 

 were for the most part without mortuary objects. Two or three arrow- 

 points were found in one grave, and a necklace of some 600 fresh- 

 water snail shells were found draped about the face and body of a 

 tiny infant. The burials themselves were scattered from front to 

 back of the cave and ranged in depth from 10 to 32 inches. No at- 

 tention seemed to have been paid to orientation of the bodies. 



The skulls are dolichocephalic tending toward mesocephalic. There 

 is a slight indication of asymmetrical occipital deformation. Teeth are 

 well preserved and show little evidence of having been prematurely 

 worn down by gritty food. No pathological conditions of the bones 

 have been found. 



The artifacts from this cave consisted largely of stone, flint, bone, 

 and shell ; with a crude, undecorated, flat-bottomed, shell-tempered 

 pottery ; but no traces of wooden objects or textiles of any kind. 

 Flint artifacts comprised the largest class, numbering 233 specimens 



