Pap. >fo!" 25"/' JOHN H. KERR RESERVOIR BASIN — ^MILLER 297 



main source of food, and that he hung around the fringes of such herds 

 as long as they grazed in a specific area. He would establish tempo- 

 rary camps at this time to which he would bring the game he killed, 

 build his campfires, chip out his stone projectile points and other 

 tools, and probably tan several of the animal hides, which served 

 many purposes. If shelters of any type were ever built we have no 

 concrete evidence of such to date. Whether he buried his dead cannot 

 be vouched for since we have not been able to locate even a single well- 

 documented burial that can be associated with any of these early 

 cultures. We know him only from his imperishable weapons and some 

 few bone ornaments, which cannot possibly represent his total attain- 

 ments. One of the best-known Early Man sites, to date, is the Linden- 

 meier site in northern Colorado. 



It has been suspected, for quite some time, that there were a number 

 of early nomadic hunters, similar to those of the western plains, 

 who must have penetrated through the Ohio Valley into Virginia at 

 a relatively early post-Mankato date. Unfortunately, we do not have 

 corroborating geological and biological evidence to support our sus- 

 picions but we do have sufficient typological evidence, which has been 

 accumulating over the years, to indicate his presence in the area. 



Several years ago, while excavating a foundation for a motel, a mul- 

 tiple burial was uncovered in the vicinity of Natural Bridge, Rocking- 

 ham County, Va. Twelve skeletons were uncovered. These were 

 placed extended in two rows, lying on their right sides, their right 

 hands tucked under their heads, their left arms down by their sides, 

 and heads pointed to the north. Associated with them were two fluted 

 points whose configurations resemble well-known Clovis types, as well 

 as a heap of small limestone nodules. The points were salvaged but 

 later misplaced. 



The motel owner took rough measurements of the skeletons in situ 

 and upon his chart he indicated the position of the two points and the 

 pile of limestone nodules. Upon completion of his chart he had the 

 skeletal remains shoved into a low spot over which the motel was later 

 built. 



Two years passed before the writer was notified of this incident. 

 Upon investigating, he was told that the owner while digging for a 

 septic tank came across a hearth area 8 feet below the present surface 

 in which was a mass of charcoal. Found in association with the 

 burials, alongside the hearth were small heaps of stone chips of the 

 same material as the points were made of. Neither the charcoal nor 

 the chips were saved for examination. Thus was lost another concrete 

 link in the evidence of Early Man in this part of Virginia. 



Fluted points found in this same region and from nearby areas fall 

 into a generalized pattern but vary as to overall length and width. 



