no  SMITHSONIAN    INSTITUTION 
crushed  shell  which  had  served  as  the  tempering  material.  Bits  of 
soapstone  vessels  were  also  found.  The  types  and  condition  of  the 
objects  discovered  suggest  that  this  was  a  permanent  village  rather 
than  a  temporary  camp,  and  the  uniformity  of  the  weathering  makes 
it  appear  that  all  articles  of  stone  were  made  and  used  about  the 
same  time. 
Later  in  the  year  several  sites  farther  up  the  river,  which  had  like- 
wise been  exposed  by  the  spring  freshet,  were  visited  and  examined. 
The  material  discovered,  much  of  which  diflfers  from  that  now 
figured,  will  be  described  and  illustrated  at  another  time. 
Floods  have  been  recorded  ever  since  the  country  was  settled  by 
the  English,  when  much  of  the  heavy  timber  was  cleared  away  and 
the  ground  was  cultivated  and  leveled.  The  loosened  earth  was  often 
inundated  and  gullied,  as  during  the  spring  of  1937,  and  although  the 
masses  of  refuse  which  had  accumulated  in  and  about  the  native  vil- 
lages during  different  periods  of  occupancy  were  once  distinct  and 
stratified  or  separated,  all  became  intermingled  by  the  force  of  the 
waters.  This  readily  explains  the  variety  of  objects,  made  of  various 
materials,  often  encountered  on  the  same  site.  Such  conditions  pre- 
vailed not  only  on  the  Rappahannock  but  in  the  vicinity  of  other 
streams  as  well. 
Some  years  ago  a  beautiful  example  of  the  eastern  form  of  Folsom 
points  was  discovered  near  the  left  bank  of  the  river  a  few  miles 
below  the  site  just  described.  Unfortunately,  it  was  found  on  the 
surface,  not  beneath  it,  but  this  is  not  significant  because,  as  explained 
above,  the  clearing  and  cultivating  of  the  land  enabled  the  periodic 
flood  waters  to  change  the  contour  of  the  land  rapidly,  and  the  Folsom 
point  may  therefore  have  once  been  well  below  the  surface.  The 
occurrence  of  the  point  in  this  region  may  be  accepted  as  proof  that 
man  was  here  many  centuries  ago,  although  just  how  early  he  reached 
the  country  eastward  from  the  mountains  will  be  impossible  to  deter- 
mine until  more  evidence  is  available. 
During  the  year  1937,  as  for  several  preceding  years,  a  superficial 
examination  was  made  of  many  sites  both  above  and  below  the  falls 
of  the  Rappahannock.  The  results  were  interesting  and  satisfactory, 
and  have  led  to  the  belief  that  an  intensive  investigation,  including  the 
excavation  of  certain  areas,  would  prove  of  exceptional  value  and 
shed  light  on  the  manners  and  ways  of  life,  and  possibly  reveal  the 
identity,  of  the  early  inhabitants  of  the  valley. 
