hrdliCka] discoveries ATTRIBUTED TO EARLY MAN 43 



old creek. A" human corpse, however, is a large object and more or 

 less biio^^ant, according to its state of decomposition. It would not 

 tend to sink into fairly compact older sand deposits, but would be 

 rolled or would float until caught by some obstruction. Then it 

 would be covered to greater or less extent by other floating objects, 

 as weeds, branches, etc., and the moving sands next to the bottom, 

 with some silt, would begin to pile up, especially on the side facing 

 the current ; but what height of water, amount of carried matter, 

 and length of submergence would be necessary to cover the whole 

 human body so that on recession of the waters it would no more 

 become reexposed by the winds, by animals, or by other overflows? 

 Was all or any of this possible on the Vero flats? 



Although there are many happenings in nature which after a time 

 we can not fully trace, yet it will probably be conceded that there 

 is little likelihood of an accidental introduction of the skeleton under 

 consideration into the stratum where it was found. And if not in- 

 cluded accidentally, it could have got there only by intentional burial. 



In examining the ground a few feet back of the spot where the 

 bones lay it was seen that an aboriginal burial in the formations 

 would even now be feasible, and conditions were surely not more un- 

 favorable a few hundred years ago. The fresh- water marl on the 

 surface was hard only in places, in others it was of the consistency of 

 fresh mortar; but the whole layer is probably not old. Its consolida- 

 tion on exposure is rapid. There are harder " rocks " in Florida that 

 cover recent human burials (see pis. 3-5). A formation such as this 

 surely could not have excluded the possibility of an Indian interment. 

 Below the marl are the easily worked upper sands, olfering no dif- 

 ficulty for excavation; and still lower is the more or less toughened 

 dark sand of layer Xo. 2, which even to-day could be penetrated with- 

 out great difficulty by a primitive man with a well-pointed bone or 

 stick or antler (pi. 2, fig. 2). With patience, which the Indians sel- 

 dom lacked, it could even be scraped awa}^ by means of a shell or of 

 fragments of pottery. As to depth, the Indians buried from close to 

 the surface to as deep as 5 feet or more, but the large majority of their 

 graves are found between the depths of 2 and 4 feet. The skeleton 

 under discussion was at a depth of somewhat more than 2 feet. 



Second skeleton. — As to the bones of Skeleton II, there are a num- 

 ber of interesting circumstances which deserve close attention. 



In the first place, three of the bones which fell out or were dug out 

 of the bank and lay exposed for some time to the alements, became 

 considerably bleached. The significance of this seemingh^ unim- 

 portant occurrence will be seen later. 



In the second place, considerable difficulty has developed regard- 

 ing the question of depth at which the skeleton lay. Dr. Sellards 

 (p. 142) says that " above the human skeleton 4 feet of alluvial mate- 



