20 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL, III 



occurrence of burial mounds, found in increasing numbers farther 

 east in the James and other lesser stream valleys, but exceedingly- 

 rare along the Missouri itself. The mounds, greatly reduced by long 

 cultivation, were some 40 to 50 feet in diameter and less than 4 feet 

 high, with circular outline. The larger contained evidences of a pre- 

 pared floor of bluish clay. In each was found a subrectangular pit 

 approximately 5 or 6 feet across, dug a foot or more into the under- 

 lying ground surface. Each pit contained the disarticulated bones of 

 several individuals, presumably interred after exposure of the corpse 

 had destroyed the softer tissues. In the larger mound, besides the 

 suggestion of a prepared clay floor, there was evidence (pi. i, fig. i) 

 of a log layer over the burial pit, and some of the leg and arm bones 

 had been perforated near one end — features heretofore unreported 

 from the supper Missouri and Great Plains region. There were no 

 artifacts in association with the skeletal remains. Location of the vil- 

 lage, if any, whose inhabitants built and used the burial mounds, is 

 unknown. 



Two miles downstream, on a small terrace at the junction of Pease 

 Creek with the Missouri, exploratory pits and trenches disclosed 

 remains (39CH5) attributable to two periods of occupation. In both 

 levels pottery was present, though in small amounts only. That in 

 the lower and earlier deposits appears to be in the Arikara tradition. 

 Potsherds from the upper and later strata, on the other hand, differ, 

 but their relationships are still unclear. A trash mound approximately 

 4j feet deep includes remains of both periods, thus affording an 

 opportunity for significant and definitive stratigraphic studies. No 

 house remains were detected, though their presence is suspected. 

 Burials are reported to have been uncovered by road-building work 

 on a bluff across the creek to the northwest. 



Testing operations at the Oldham site (39CH7), about i mile 

 above the mouth of Platte Creek, also revealed evidence of two suc- 

 cessive occupations. The earlier, indicated in the diggings as a buried 

 dark-gray soil stratum containing charcoal, flint chips, and animal 

 bone, was represented by fragments of pottery with the surfaces 

 roughened by a cord-wrapped paddle. In the upper zone, the pottery 

 fragments either had plain surfaces or else had been treated with a 

 grooved or thong-wrapped paddle so as to give a ridged effect. Asso- 

 ciated with the second and later occupation were semisubterrean 

 dwellings, two of which were cleared (pi. 2, fig. i). Each had numer- 

 ous closely spaced post molds outlining a well-defined circular floor; 

 a narrow, formerly covered entrance passage; a central fireplace; 

 and four primary posts supporting the main house structure. Many 



