16 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 179 



holes that had apparently been dug through stratum 2 into stratum 1. 

 In stratum 1 the molds were clearly distinguishable as yellowish- 

 brown areas that were much softer than the compact clay into which 

 they extended. The molds could not be detected in stratum 2, how- 

 ever, although they undoubtedly had been dug through that member. 

 At the middle of the arc the molds extended 10 to 11 inches into 

 stratum 1, then gradually decreased in depth in both directions. The 

 hypothetical molds required to complete the eastern two-thirds of 

 the house pattern were evidently confined entirely to stratum 2 where 

 they did not show up. 



A circular-shaped midden area, up to 14 inches thick at the center 

 and lensing out at the margins, lay over stratum 2 within the 

 perimeter of the house pattern. It undoubtedly represents debris 

 that accumulated on the floor of the house. 



Little can be said about construction details of the house except 

 that it was circular in shape, approximately 26 feet in diameter, and 

 had a wall framework basically formed of upright poles no larger 

 than 5 to 7 inches in diameter at the base. Conspicuously absent 

 were traces of the wattle-impressed daub so frequently found at house 

 sites in the Caddoan Area, which suggests that wattle-and-daub 

 construction was not used in the Knight's Bluff house. No interior 

 features were found. 



BURIALS 



Ten burials were excavated at ICnight's Bluff. With the exception 

 of burial No. 1, which was only 12 inches below the surface, all 

 graves were dug into the red clay of stratum 1. The grave outline 

 of burial No. 1 could not be detected; in all other cases the grave 

 fill contained reddish clay from stratum 1, and grave outlines could 

 be easily seen where they cut through strata 2 and 3. 



The burials were fairly consistent in some respects; all were in 

 extended position on the back, all but one were accompanied by 

 mortuary offerings, and all but two were oriented with the head 

 toward the south or east or somewhere between those two cardinal 

 directions. Burial No. 2 consisted of two individuals; all others 

 were single interments. Mortuary offerings of pottery vessels were 

 associated with all burials except Nos. 1 and 8 which were entirely 

 devoid of furniture. The only mortuary furniture other than pot- 

 tery vessels were a large stemmed knife or spear point of novaculite 

 with burial No. 5, a perforated mussel shell with burial No. 7, and 

 part of a small shell pendant at the neck of burial No. 7. 



Individual burials are briefly described below in tabular form. 

 The cranial measurements and physical observations, not only for 

 the Knight's Bluff skeletal material but also for that from the Sher- 

 win and Snipes Sites described later in this report, were made by 

 Miss Dee Ann Suhm. 



