24 MOUND BURIAL— FLORIDA. 



and was originally published by Dr. George M. Sternberg, surgeon United 

 States Army :* 



" Before visiting the mound I was informed that the Indians were 

 buried in it in an upright position, each one with a clay pot on his head. 

 This idea was based upon some superficial explorations which had been 

 made from time to time by curiosity hunters. Their excavations had, in- 

 deed, brought to light pots containing fragments of skulls, but not buried 

 in the position they imagined. Very extensive explorations made at differ- 

 ent times by myself have shown that only fragments of skulls and of the 

 long bones of the body are to be found in the mound, and that these are 

 commonly associated with earthen pots, sometimes whole, but more fre- 

 quently broken fragments only. In some instances portions of the skull 

 were placed in a pot, and the loDg bones were deposited in its immediate 

 vicinity. Again, the pots would contain only sand, and fragments of bones 

 would be found near them. The most successful ' find ' I made was a whole 

 nest of pots, to the number of half a dozen, all in a good state of preservation, 

 and buried with a fragment of skull, which I take from its small size to 

 have been that of a female. Whether this female was thus distinguished 

 above all others buried in the mound by the number of pots deposited with 

 her remains because of her skill in the manufacture of such ware, or by 

 reason of the unusual wealth of her sorrowing husband, must remain a mat- 

 ter of conjecture. I found altogether fragments of skulls and thigh-bones 

 belonging to at least fifty individuals ; but in no instance did I find any- 

 thing like a complete skeleton. There were no vertebras, no ribs, no pelvic 

 bones, and none of the small bones of the hands and feet. Two or three 

 skulls nearly perfect were found, but they were so fragile that it was impos- 

 sible to preserve them. In the majority of instances only fragments of the 

 frontal and parietal bones were found, buried in pots or in fragments of pots 

 too small to have ever contained a complete skull. The conclusion was 

 irresistible that this was not a burial-place for the bodies of deceased In- 

 dians, but that the bones had been gathered from some other locality for 

 burial in this mound, or that cremation was practiced before burial, and the 

 fragments of bone not consumed by fire were gathered and deposited in the 



* Proc. Am. Ass. Adv. of Science, 1875, p. 288. 



