ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS 



READ BEFORE THE 



ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



OF 



WASHINGTON,- D. C., 



FOR THE 



Year Ending January 20, 1880. 



FIRST REGULAR MEETING. 



March 4, 1879. 



Relic Hunting. 

 By FRANK H. CUSHIJSTG. 



The speaker, who has had much experience in collecting 

 archseologic materials in the field — on the shores of many 

 of the lakes of New York and in the valley of the Potomac — 

 gave an interesting description of the topograhic features 

 to be observed as indices of ancient Indian village sites. His 

 conclusions were, that the Indians in choosing these sites 

 were influenced by a double set of motives : the first, riparian 

 convenience, as they obtained their subsistence in large part 

 from the water; the second, defensive advantages. He then 

 gave the distinctive features of fortified towns as they ap- 

 pear from a study of their remains, and in conclusion de- 

 scribed the communal ash-heap into which the bones, pot- 

 tery, and broken implements of camp life were sure to drift. 



