536 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IX. No. 224. 



sand from place to place. For this reason 

 no definite age can be assigned to the speci- 

 mens secured. It is certain, judging from 

 the complete absence of European objects 

 at many of the localities explored, that the 

 remains found at these places antedate con- 

 tact with the whites. A number of them must 

 carry us back several hundred years. The 

 modern Indians make small arrow-points, 

 and disclaim the large kind found in exca- 

 vations. The work undoubtedly proves 

 that these ancient people and those now 

 inhabiting this region were practically the 

 same. 



ISTumerous circular depressions were 

 found, indicating the sites of ancient un- 

 derground houses. The dry climate, and 

 the action of copper salts, preserved bits of 

 skin garments. Portions of the clothing 

 and bags that were made of the bark of the 

 sagebrush, remain in the dry est places. 

 Beaver-teeth dice, exactly like those used 

 by the present Indians ; digging-stick han- 

 dles made of antler, similar to those in use 

 to-day ; charred berries ; fish-bones ; and 

 skin scrapers made of stone — were un- 

 earthed. 



The graves were found in groups and 

 also singly, as is the case with the modern 

 ones. The bodies were buried upon the 

 side, with the knees drawn up to the chest. 

 They were wrapped in a fabric made of 

 sagebrush-bark, and were covered with 

 mats of woven rushes. Over the forehead 

 and around the neck were strings of beads, 

 some of copper, others of dentalium-shell. 

 At the side, in a pouch also made of woven 

 sagebrush-bark, were usually found such 

 objects as pieces of glassy basalt, points 

 chipped out of the same material for arrows 

 and knives, a pair of grooved stones which 

 were used for smoothing and straightening 

 an-ow-shafts, a set of beaver-teeth dice, 

 bone awls and needles, quantities of red 

 ochre, copper-stained clay and yellow earth 

 used for paint. 



The beads of dentalium-shell from the 

 Pacific coast probably indicate intertribal 

 trade. A number of war-clubs and several 

 small animal figures carved ia bone were 

 found. The handles of the clubs were 

 artistically sculptured to represent human 

 heads with plumed head-dresses. Such 

 specimens show that the ancient people 

 were capable of a high order of artistic 

 carving, which, perhaps, more than any of 

 their other work, resembles the products of 

 the coast culture. Stones burned and 

 crackled, evidently by basket or box boil- 

 ing, are found at all the village- sites and 

 shell-heaps explored in British Columbia. 



Several specimens, such as the stone 

 mortar and the tubular pipe, remind us of 

 the types found in Oregon and California. 

 Ethnological investigations have shown the 

 affiliation of the recent culture of this 

 region to that of the Eocky Mountain re- 

 gion. These archaeological evidences sug- 

 gest that this similarity was even greater 

 in the past. 



Turning to the problem of the shell-heaps 

 of the coast, it is necessary to note that the 

 present tribes of the coast of British Co- 

 lumbia build immense houses of cedar 

 j)lanks. They depend largely upon the 

 cedar and other wood for their implements 

 and utensils. The bark of the cedar is 

 made into garments, bags, mats, and the 

 like ; in fact, the cedar is to these people 

 what the bamboo is to the Japanese. They 

 rely greatly upon salmon and shell-fish for 

 food. The ssal also furnishes them with 

 food and material for manufactures. They 

 have developed an exceedingly high art in 

 carving and painting, which is quite char- 

 acteristic for the N irth Pacific coast. 



The most extensive remains of the early 

 inhabitants of the ",oast are shell-heaps. 

 Their general distribution may be judged 

 by the fact that in the region, less than a 

 hundred miles square, on the shore of the 

 north end of Vancouver Island, and the 



