100 FOSSIL MEN. 



in the fire. In one spot was found a cache of charred 

 acorns, probably those of the white oak, which after 

 being buried in the ground for a time become edible. 

 Stones of the wild plum are very abundant, and it 

 has been observed that this tree grows abundantly on 

 the sites of most old Indian villages. The stones of 

 wild cherries and the shells of the butternut have also 

 been observed. All this fully accords with Carrier's 

 narrative and with those of the other early French 

 explorers, who inform us that while the semi-civilized 

 Indian tribes cultivated the ground, they also made 

 tributary to their use all the wild animals and fruits 

 of the country. It is instructive, however, to observe 

 how little remains to indicate the somewhat extensive 

 agriculture of these people, even in their central town, 

 while it is obvious that in the remains of their hunt- 

 ing encampments nothing would be preserved except 

 bones and weapons belonging to merely savage life. 



One fragment obtained from a heap of kitchen 

 refuse suggests some strange questions. It is a por- 

 tion of the lower jaw of a human being, evidently 

 broken before being imbedded. It has belonged to a 

 very aged person, and from its size and proportions 

 probably a woman. It is also remarkable for the 

 narrowness and thickness of the bone, the smallness 

 of the chin, and the forward projection of the sockets 

 of the teeth. In these respects it more nearly re- 

 sembles the celebrated jaw described by Dupont from 

 the pre-historic cave of Naulette, in Belgium, than any 

 other I have seen. Is it an indication of cannibalism? 



