66 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 33 



by the brown oxide of iron, and occurs noncontinuously just above the water s 

 edge. There is no evidence to suggest its not being a recent formation. All 

 the conditions under which this skull was found seem to be identical with those 

 under which the one at Osprey occurred. Therefore I am of the opinion that 

 the Hanson skull occurs in a geologically recent formation. 



CONCLUSIONS AS TO THE AGE OF THE HUMAN REMAINS 



1. No importance can be attached to the fossilized condition of the human 

 remains found at any one of the three localities studied. 



2. At Osprey, where paleontologic and stratigraphic .evidence is available, the 

 evidence is in favor of the human remains being geologically recent. 



3. Positive paleontologic and stratigraphic evidence is absent at the locality 

 between 1 and 2 miles south of Osprey and at Hanson s landing. In each 

 locality, however, there is no evidence to favor the remains being geologically 

 as old even as Pleistocene. 



4. All of the positive evidence and the conditions under which these fossilized 

 human bones were found in Florida favor the opinion that man geologically is a 

 recent immigrant into that area. 



XVI. MOUND CRANIA (FLORIDA) 



On further exploration of the Osprey region it was found that it 

 had been well peopled by the Indian tribes up to comparatively recent 

 times. A large artificial shell mound (see figure 8) occurs near the 

 shore just north of Mr. Webb s property, not very far from the North 

 Osprey find of fossil human bones. On the mainland near the South 

 Osprey find was a small earth-and-sand mound containing ashes. On 

 Caseys key, which lies opposite the Osprey promontory and about 

 three-quarters of a mile distant, is another large artificial platform- 

 like shell heap, and a little south of this were discovered on digging 

 many pieces of human bones and even entire bones, apparently quite 

 recent, representing probably a secondary multiple Indian burial. 

 Finally, 6 or 7 miles south of Osprey, near Laurel, occurs a large sand 

 mound which contained many Indian burials ; similar mounds north 

 of Osprey were learned of, especially about Sarasota and on a key 

 opposite Sarasota. A skull which the writer recovered from the 

 Laurel mound is in form much like the Osprey skull ; and the bones 

 from the Casey Key burial are in general much similar to the fossils 

 of North Osprey. 



XVII. THE NEBRASKA &quot; LOESS MAN &quot; 



After having concluded the above review of the older discoveries 

 of human remains in North America to which considerable antiquity 

 has been attributed, the writer was fortunately afforded the oppor 

 tunity of making detailed studies of the most recent example of finds 

 of that class the so-called Nebraska &quot;loess man,&quot; The following 

 pages embody the results of these investigations. 



