64  SMITHSONIAN    MISCELLANEOUS    COLLECTIONS  VOL.    96 
three  levels — I  and  2  above  the  floor,  and  level  3  on  the  floor.  The 
dimensions  of  the  house  (no.  3)  were  21  feet  3  inches  by  18  feet 
6  inches,  but  our  original  excavation  was  larger,  26  by  30  feet.  This 
larger  excavation  took  in  5  feet  additional  space  to  the  SW.  and  NE. 
and  11^  feet  to  the  NW.  and  SE.  Only  Punuk  material  was  found 
on  and  directly  above  the  house  floor  (some  of  the  objects  will  be 
mentioned  when  describing  the  house).  On  the  other  hand,  the  deco- 
rated objects  from  outside  the  house,  in  the  space  included  in  the  NE. 
and  SE.  extension  of  cut  9,  were  all  Old  Bering  Sea.  Included  among 
these  objects  were  the  two  needle  cases  shown  on  plate  17,  figures  6, 
7,  and  the  two  harpoon  heads  (pi,  24,  figs.  5  and  14). 
Cut  pa. — This  area  of  approximately  10  by  12  feet,  back  of  (SE. 
of)  house  no.  3,  was  at  first  included  in  cut  9,  but  was  designated 
cut  9  a  after  the  walls  of  house  no.  3  began  to  appear.  Plate  8,  figure  i, 
is  a  view  of  this  cut  (in  background)  at  an  early  stage  of  the  excava- 
tion, before  either  of  the  two  houses,  nos.  3  and  4,  had  been  com- 
pletely uncovered.  Plate  8,  figure  2,  is  a  later  view  of  the  same,  show- 
ing James  A.  Ford  excavating  in  cut  9a  (at  the  right)  and  Silook 
working  on  the  floor  of  house  no.  3;  house  no.  4  appears  in  the  right 
foreground.  Cut  9  a  seemed  to  have  been  the  site  of  a  razed  structure 
of  some  sort,  probably  a  house,  for  a  small  section  of  stone  flooring 
was  found  at  a  depth  of  5  feet,  above  which  were  loose  stones,  whale 
bones,  and  numerous  pieces  of  logs.  All  was  in  such  disorder,  how- 
ever, that  we  were  unable  to  form  any  idea  as  to  what  the  structure 
may  have  been  like.  The  cut  was  fairly  rich  in  artifacts,  there  being 
69  in  addition  to  considerable  quantities  of  potsherds,  stone  blades, 
baleen,  and  wood;  the  decorated  objects,  10  in  number,  were  all  Old 
Bering  Sea.  Of  greatest  interest,  however,  was  a  burial,  the  only 
clearly  intentional  burial  which  we  found  in  the  Miyowagh  midden. 
It  lay  8  feet  back  of  the  rear  (SE.)  wall  of  house  no.  3  at  a  depth 
of  4  feet.  It  was  oriented  toward  the  N.-NW.  and  was  covered  with 
several  layers  of  matted  skins  which  seemed  to  have  been  two  parkas, 
one  of  bird  skins  and  one  of  seal  skins,  probably  P.  hispida  accord- 
ing to  Dr.  Remington  Kellogg.  The  state  of  preservation  of  the  body 
was  remarkable ;  the  permanently  frozen  ground  had  preserved  the 
tissues  in  much  the  same  way  as  dry  sand  may  preserve  burials  in 
arid  regions.  The  greater  part  of  the  skin,  muscles,  and  tendons  re- 
mained intact,  appearing  as  a  brown,  parchmentlike  covering,  brittle 
and  flaky,  but  maintaining  its  original  relationship  to  the  bones.  The 
fleshy  parts  of  the  thighs  and  pelvic  region,  though  much  flattened, 
were  especially  well  preserved.  The  body  was  flexed,  with  knees  ex- 
tended to  the  left  at  the  level  of  tiie  hips  and  arms  placed  over  chest. 
