Hoyme and Bass] SKELETAL REMAINS 397 



On the other hand, there is evidence in the bones found at the site 

 for many of the cultural practices observed by the earliest explorers : 

 These include scalping and burial practices, as well as dental evi- 

 dence for a fairly sophisticated cuisine. Whether these are valid 

 arguments for a late pre-Columbian dating is uncertain. Customs 

 do not seem to have changed rapidly. The origin of scalping is un- 

 known, but it persisted in some parts of North America well into 

 the 19th century, some 300 years after it was first described. Ee- 

 moval of flesh from the bones was practiced in the days of the 

 ToUifero people, and was recorded by the 17th-century explorers and 

 colonists, and as late as the early 1800's (cf. Swanton, 1946, p. 726). 

 Finally, there is no particular reason to expect great changes in diet 

 once agriculture and appropriate cookery have been introduced into a 

 group, until further food items are made available and become ac- 

 cepted. Thus the correspondence between the customs discernible 

 from the bones, and those recorded by the earliest explorers may have 

 little specific significance for dating. 



Summing up, we find in the human skeletal remains from the 

 Tollifero and Clarksville sites a wealth of information on a variety 

 of topics: physical, physiological, biological, medical, cultural and 

 historical. Part of this information, as one would expect, confirms 

 what the archeologist had already learned from analysis of the mate- 

 rial cultures; part is useful for explaining some of his findings. 

 Part, of course, has bearing on the sequence of human physical types 

 in the Southeast. But in this instance, by far the largest part of the 

 information yielded by the himian bones is cultural, pointing up the 

 biological and social consequences of some of the cultural raw data, 

 and revealing the presence of customs whose existence w^as not sus- 

 pected when the examination of the bones was undertaken. One 

 might expect, with a hunting and gathering group, that the people 

 would have badly worn teeth, reflecting a coarse diet; and that the 

 ratios of skeletons of men and women, adults and children might be 

 significantly altered in consequence of a seminomadic life. Agricul- 

 ture implies a more settled way of life (and a more "normal" popula- 

 tion distribution), and better- fed, taller, healthier people; but some- 

 what unexpected phenomena are found. The very extensive tooth 

 decay and light wear suggest not only use, but possibly even abuse, 

 of the new food supply ; and the increase in the number of skeletons 

 showing pathological changes, with the increase in child mortality, in- 

 dicates not an improvement, but a decline in general health. Among 

 the completely unexpected observations are those dealing with burial 

 practices in the two groups, indicating both change with time and 

 continuity in earlier and later practices. The gradual change in cul- 

 tural pattern parallels the gradual change in physique. With our 



