102 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 
the Everglades and the Ten Thousand Islands, where 
numerous proofs of a vanished population are in evidence in 
the form of enormous shell heaps and earth mounds. 
The chief began his researches on Weeden Island, near St. 
Petersburg, which is situated at the end of Gandy Bridge, an 
artificial causeway crossing Tampa Bay. The evidences of 
prehistoric aboriginal life on Weeden Island are numerous 
large shell heaps and sand heaps which may be divided into 
groups or types, as kitchen middens, observatories, founda- 
tions of houses, and burial places. Evidently there was 
formerly a large village near the highest point of the island. 
One of the mounds which was chosen for excavation turned 
out to be a cemetery, and in the course of the winter about 
one-half of it was excavated. The work extended from 
November until March, inclusive. 
The chief was not able to be in St. Petersburg the whole 
winter, but after having started the work in November, 
1923, he returned to Washington, assigning the direction 
of the excavations to Mr. Stanley Hedberg and later to 
Mr. M. W. Stirling, of the National Museum, who continued 
the work until the chief’s return in February. As a result 
of the excavation a large collection of aboriginal objects 
was brought to the United States National Museum. This 
collection contains many unique specimens and will later 
be permanently installed in the Museum upon completion 
of a report on it. No specimens had formerly been ex- 
cavated at Weeden Island and the unique results of this 
work are regarded as most important. A preliminary 
report has been published in the Smithsonian Miscellaneous 
Collections, vol. 76, No. 18. 
At the present time it is too early to draw final conclusions 
from the above work, but it is intended to continue excava- 
tions in Florida in the winter of 1924. Many of the speci- . 
mens found were not very different from those characteristic 
of the west coast of Florida, but the number of objects is 
greater and their variations so extensive that they are 
thought to indicate a high development of the aboriginal 
culture in southern Florida. Evidences of two distinct 
cultures, one above the other, were determined from the 
