334 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 183 



of the data come from our examination of the cataloged collections. 

 Miller's field notes provided an invaluable source of information on 

 stratigraphy, type of burial,' condition of the bones when found, and 

 the nature of the material which had to be discarded in the field. 

 Newman's inventory of the collection, filed with the accession records, 

 supplies additional information on the age and sex of the material 

 discarded after processing in the laboratory. Thus, discussion of popu- 

 lation composition is based on the whole of the material recovered, 

 rather than on the 60 percent preserved; and interpretation of the 

 skeletal evidence on cultural practices is more reliable. 



DESCRIPTION OF BUKIALS 



TOLLIFERO (Ha6) BURIALS 



Burial 1 {TJSNM .^56>5P^) .—Adolescent, 12-15 years old. This 

 undisturbed secondary burial consisted of a skull cap containing the 

 face and jaw, resting on a pile of long bone fragments. The shafts 

 of a humerus, radius, a pair of femora, and two (possibly tliree) 

 tibiae, are recognizable after considerable reconstruction. Also 

 present are fragments of the clavicles, a few ribs, and the scapulae. 

 None of the bones can be completely restored because of the large 

 number of pieces missing. The bones present and the pattern of the 

 cracks (pis. 104, 105), suggest deliberate breakage before burial, pos- 

 sibly to obtain the marrow. The skull had also been broken deliber- 

 ately, and many pieces are missing. 



The maxilla and mandible show an area of porosity, corresponding 

 approximately to the upper and lower lips. The lower half of the 

 femoral and the entire tibial shafts are thickened and porous, and 

 surface details are obliterated, so that it is diflficult, with so many 

 fragments missing, to tell whether or not one large section of shaft 

 goes with one of the leg bones. The clavicles are also thickened, and 

 one end of the fragment of humerus is somewhat thickened. 

 Not enough of the humerus is present to tell whether this slightly 

 thickened bone represents beginning inflammation, or the margin of 

 a more severely affected area. The other bones show no inflammatory 

 changes. 



The inner and outer surfaces of skull and the surface of several of 

 the long bones show some peculiar small, shallow pits. Although one 

 or two of them may represent vascular enlargements associated with 



* In describing burial position as "flexed" or "Bcmlflexed," Miller's field eketches have 

 been followed rather than the verbal descriptions In his notes. "Flexed" has been re- 

 served for those skeletons In which the sketch shows the legs and thighs qnlte close to the 

 trunk, and "semiflexed" for the burials In which the legs are more loosely flexed. 

 The slgnlflcance of the skeletal position, and the necessity for this alternative In- 

 terpretation of Miller's notes will be discussed further In the section on "Burial Practices." 

 Although both sites seem to represent a single occupation, a few burials at each were 

 recorded by Miller ai possibly referable to an earlier population. 



