520 PREHISTORIC VILLAGES IN TENNESSEE [ETH. ANN. 41 
PouisHep Brack FLoor 
To the northeast of the fire bowl (fig. 129) is No. 9, the black, 
glossy section of floor shown on a large scale in Figure 132, No. 9. 
The floor at this point had been smoothed and hardened to a slight 
extent with fire; then a one-half inch layer of a black glossy mate- 
rial was spread over it and carefully smoothed and polished. As the 
edges were clearly defined and no other traces of it were found in 
this building, it probably covered only the space shown. 
SMALL Pot witH STONE CovER 
A small earthen pot, shown in Plate 104, a, was found upright on 
the surface of the floor, 1 foot southeast of the fire bowl, near the 
foot of the yardstick in Plate 103, b. This pot is 314 inches in 
diameter across the rim and 3 inches deep. It had a neatly fitted 
cover made from two thin slabs of limestone, the edges of which had 
been rounded to fit the top of the pot. It was filled with a black 
earth which contained no solid objects. This black earth repre- 
sented the original contents and filled the pot completely, supporting 
the still horizontal two-piece stone-slab top, which otherwise would 
have fallen in. The contents were submitted to chemists who report 
that the continued leaching during a long period had removed all 
recognizable traces of the original matter. 
CHILD’s GRAVE 
At 5 in Figure 129 was found the grave of a child about 3 months 
old. The stone-slab coffin was 12 by 26 inches and ran east and 
west. It was immediately below the surface, with the stone-slab top 
flush with the floor. There were no signs of ashes or fire about this 
grave. The sides had been forced in, probably by pressure arising 
from walking on the floor surrounding it. The body was extended 
on its back, arms at the sides, knees apparently originally bent 
upward, as shown in Figure 133. This child had no ornaments or 
artifacts of any kind with it. 
Corrin ContTatninc Bopres or Two CHILDREN 
At 7 in Figure 129 was a stone-slab coffin which contained the 
skeletons of two little children. Plate 103, a, shows this grave after 
all the intrusive soil had been carefully removed, and before the bones 
had been disturbed. The top of the grave was flush with the hard- 
packed clay floor. The stone-slab coffin was 3 feet 9 inches long and 
12 inches wide at the north end, 14 inches wide at the south end. 
Its depth was 10 inches. The grave ran N. 10° E. 
The position of the undisturbed bones clearly established the fact 
that these children had been buried after decay of the flesh. The 
