272 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 52 



that he had noted at one side of the excavation a small quantity of 

 black earth, like a pencil in an upright position, which was probably 

 due' to a root. Senor Pirez said that he was not present when the 

 bones were disinterred but learned the facts when Doctor Ameghino 

 made a second visit for the purpose of searching for some missing 

 portions. 



A reasonable interpretation of these facts, as it seems to the 

 writer, is that the body was buried on the summit of the hill in the 

 soft eolian loess and in the position which would naturally be chosen 

 for such a purpose; that in course of time the earth in which it 

 was buried slid somewhat, as it is evident that much of the face of 

 the hill at this immediate point is, even now, sliding. Some portion 

 of the earth which was originally above the body may have been 

 removed by wind erosion, and possibly the discovery of the bones was 

 facilitated by this fact. There is nothing in the topographic or geo- 

 logic relations, nor in the situation in which the bones were found, to 

 indicate that the skeleton is of any antiquity. 



HOMO SINEMENTO — ARROYO DEL MORO; NECOCHEA 



The Arroyo del Moro Find 



The Arroyo del Moro, or more properly the Laguna Malacara, find 

 was made sometime in the earlier half of 1909 by Jose Oliva, a sailor 

 guarding a stranded cJiata ^ on the desolate beach about 7 miles north- 

 east of the Arroyo del Moro, some 35 miles northeast of Necochea. 

 As he told our party, he was out with his wife and boy hunting, and 

 in crossing one of the flats among the sand dunes, situated about 15 

 minutes walk north of his temporary home and at a somewhat shorter 

 distance from the Laguna Malacara, his wife and he saw on the ground 

 from a distance a white rounded object, which they took at first for 

 a large ostrich egg, but wliich on closer view was found to be the top 

 of a human skull. The sailor dug out the skull with a knife, and when 

 an opportunity presented itself he sent a notice of the find to the 

 gardener, L. Parodi, at Necochea, who was known to be interested in 

 bones in behalf of the Museo Nacional at Buenos Aires. The infor- 

 mation reached also Dr. E. Cavazutti, an amateur local collector of 

 Necochea. 



The place was then dug over by the sailor, his boy, and the gardener, 

 who found two skeletons; what was saved of these came through 

 Doctor Cavazutti to the Museo Nacional, where the specimens, espe- 

 cially the skulls, were repaired and partially reconstructed. 



Later on the locality was visited by Florentino and Carlos Ameghino, 

 who collected over the same flat numerous fossils and also many 

 worked stones of the dark variety.^ 



1 A flat-bottom boat. The chaia in question is a stranded steel barge. 



2 See section on Archeology. 



