172 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



A special trip of three days was made to the important large group 

 of mounds at Marksville, stopping en route to examine sites reported 

 in the vicinity of Alexandria, La. Near the town of Lecompte on 

 Bayou Boeuf a group of four flat-topped pyramidal mounds was 

 visited and although one of them had been the scene of earlier digging 

 it is quite possible tbat systematic excavation might still reveal new 

 evidence as to the identity of the builders of the mounds. The Marks- 

 ville group has been worked over by several investigators, the result 

 being that such mounds as have escaped levelling under the process of 

 cultivation present the appearance of small craters, good sized pits 



Fig. 163. — Fronto-occipital deformed female skull, Natchitoches, La. This 

 is an example of extreme head flattening by means of pressure applied to 

 the skull from boards tied on the front and the back of the head during 

 infancy. 



having been scooped out of the tops, or else they are merely shells of 

 mounds left after the digging of broad trenches through their centers. 

 However, to the north of the structures in Enclosure A, as the main 

 group is called, there are more mounds down on the bottom lands 

 below the property of Alfred Greenhouse, a mulatto who lives on the 

 bluff. These mounds, seven in number, comprise four flat-topped 

 quadrilateral and three lower conical structures, all in definite rela- 

 tionship to one another. Tiny flint points and a variety of potsherds 

 were picked up at this site, which looks like a profitable locality for 

 further excavation. It is interesting to note that this group was com- 

 pletely submerged to a depth of 4 feet over the top of the highest 



