﻿92 



SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 78 



Within this small inner mound or clay dome was found a rec- 

 tangular ornament of sheet copper and silver enclosing a core of 

 wood, shown i)i situ in figure 93. Both copper and silver are shown 

 by analysis to be native American, probably from the Lake Superior 

 region. Silver and copi^er ornaments practically identical to this 

 have been found in small numbers in Florida, Tennessee, Ohio, and 

 Michigan. 



Thin, flaked knives, struck with a single blow from flint cores, 

 were found both in the mound and in the adjoining field. These 



Fig. 92. — Stratification of colored sand and clay in McRae mound, near 

 Increase, Clarke County, Mississippi. 



are identical in every respect with the flaked knives from Flint 

 Ridge in Ohio which, while abundant in the Ohio mounds, are 

 rarely foimd in other localities. 



With the most significant features of the McRae mound so 

 strongly suggesting northern influence, we must conclude that the 

 builders of this Mississippi motmd maintained at least a close trade 

 relationship with the northern tribes. While tmdoubtedly the many 

 mounds and various other earthworks of North America were built 

 by Indian tribes of diverse stocks, there are certain resemblances 

 between even the most distant of them which suggest a contact 

 something more than sporadic. 



Work was next begun on a group of seven small mounds on the 

 property of Mr. J. M. Kettler near Hiwannee. in Wayne County. 



