18 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull, 71 



hiis ever since been applied to the mountain, a prominent landmark 

 in the valley. This ancient pile of stones may have marked the grave 

 of some great man who lived and died before the coming of the 

 colonists. 



Many ancient graves have been discovered at different times and in 

 widely separated parts of New England. Probably the most famed 

 of the many burials thus encountered was the so-called " Skeleton in 

 Armor," a closely flexed skeleton discovered in a sand bank at Fall 

 River, Massachusetts, in 1831. Traces of several thicknesses of bark 

 cloth were found about the remains and on the outside was a casing 

 of cedar bark. Associated with the body were objects of brass, one 

 being a plate of that material about 14 inches in length, and encircling 

 the skeleton were traces of a belt to which had been attached many 

 brass tubes each about 4^ inches in length and one-cjuarter inch in 

 diameter. The belt, made of metal obviously of European origin, 

 was thought to be a piece of armor, which resulted in the name applied 

 to the skeleton. The occurrence of brass with this burial is of inter- 

 est as it is conclusive proof that flexed burials were prepared after the 

 coming of the colonists. This example may date from about the 

 middle of the seventeenth century. 



Flexed skeletons are usually found in single graves, although two 

 closely bound burials were discovered in one grave, on the left bank 

 of the Connecticut Eiver, at North Hadley, Massachusetts. This 

 was on the site of an Indian village where, about the year 1675, the 

 chief was named Quanquant, The Crow. 



Cemeteries which may date from the earliest times are to be seen 

 in the vicinity of Plymouth, and one of the largest in all New Eng- 

 land is located in the town of Chilmark, on the island of Marthas 

 Vineyard. Here 97 graves are marked by flat stones gathered from 

 the surrounding surface and there are undoubtedly others which 

 are not distinguishable. Several other burying places are known on 

 the island, one being at Christiantown, the old Manitwatooiaii., or 

 "God's Town," of 1668. It is well known that Marthas Vineyard 

 was formerly the home of a large native population, by whom it was 

 called Capawock. 



MANHATTAN ISLAND AND SOUTHWARD 



An early description of the burial customs of the nati^•p inhabitants 

 of New Netherlands, probably based on some ceremonies witnessed 

 on or near Manhattan Island, explains the manner and position in 

 which the remains were deposited in the grave. 



"Whenever an Indian departs this life, all the residents of the 

 place assemble at the funeral. To a distant stranger, who has not a 

 friend or relative in the place, they pay the like respect. They are 



