240 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 182 



vidually or in groups ; 1 skull ; 5 reburials ; 3 cremations, or rather tlie 

 occurrence of at least 3 partially cremated remains placed into a 

 common grave ; and 2 very small children and 2 adults placed extended 

 in individual graves. Head direction is variable. Twenty-six were 

 complete enough to determine this factor. Three had their heads 

 pointing to the east, 12 to the west, 1 to the south, 6 to the northwest, 

 1 to the southeast, 1 to the west, and 2 to the north. 



Wlienever primary inhumations occurred only a single individual 

 was placed into a grave. The exception occurred with burial No. 

 17. In this grave was placed the flesh burial of an adult female, 

 semiflexed, lying on her back with head to the west. Along with her 

 in the same grave and next to her left side were placed the bundled 

 remains of an adult male. At the foot of the common grave were tlie 

 remains of a very large turtle carapace {Pseudemys ruhiventris) , the 

 largest seen in the Roanoke Valley. It was resting upon its natural 

 base with crest uppermost. Since there was nothing under the shell 

 the weight of the grave fill had crushed it flat (pi. 84, a). 



The question is then raised : Why were the bundled remains of an 

 adult male inserted into a common grave along with a flesh burial 

 of an adult female? Could this relate to a family affiliation such as 

 husband and wife? The placement indicated that the death of the 

 man had occurred prior to that of the woman and after her death 

 his remains were placed along with hers in a common grave. Other 

 explanations and questions could be advanced but the true answer 

 will probably never be found. 



The practice of cremation was never complete, when attempted, at 

 this site. The partially cremated remains of at least three individuals 

 were placed into a common grave : Burials 14, 18, and 20. All of the 

 bones, after having been subjected to the direct action of fire, were 

 broken into small bits and the lot buried or deposited in a common 

 pit. The pit, in this instance, was a secondary one dug into a former 

 midden pit. After the partially calcined bones were inserted, a large 

 flat rock was placed over the opening and rested directly upon the top 

 of the remains. 



James (1928, pp. 228-229) noted that: "Partial cremation seems to 

 have been more prevalent than the burning of the body in its entirety, 

 the latter belonging essentially to the neighborhood of the Lakes and 

 the Southeast district." 



"\^Tien the bones from this deposit were examined it was noted that 

 "checking*' or "reticulation" was not one of the characteristic features 

 of this bone mass. Krogman ( 1939) , after studying large numbers of 

 cremated remains of both the Hopewell and Adena cultures, noted 

 that human bones when stripped of the flesh and allowed to dry before 

 being subjected to the intense heat necessary to bring about crema- 

 tion tend to display "checking like the patina of age in an oil painting." 



