Report of the Antiquities of 

 Mad River Valley. 



BY PROF. THOS. F. MOSES, URBANA UNIVERSITY. 



The relation of the physical features of a country to the distribu- 

 tion of its population is a well-known fact, especially as regards the 

 location of cities and towns along the shores of seas and lakes and 

 upon the banks of navigable rivers. At the present day, since the 

 general introduction of railroads and canals, centers of population are 

 found somewhat remote from the old highways of commerce, so that 

 this natural relation is somewhat obscured. In the prehistoric times 

 of our continent, however, when the streams were navigable in their 

 smallest branches, and almost to their very sources, by the vessels of 

 light draft common to primitive peoples, we should expect to find a 

 more uniform relationship between the early settlements and the wa- 

 ter-courses than now exists ; and it is the fact that we do find the 

 mounds and earthworks constructed by the early inhabitants in close 

 proximity to the rivers and their tributaries, those of less extent be- 

 ing found along the smaller streams while those of greater magnitude 

 occupy the larger river valleys and positions of greatest natural ad- 

 vantage. Hence, in describing the ancient remains of the valley of 

 Mad river we follow a natural method and confine our attention to a 

 well-defined area, the study of which must necessarily yield more sat- 

 isfactory results than that of one bounded by county lines or other 

 arbitrary limits. 



As at the present day the topography of a country in other respects 

 has greatly to do with the location of the settlements, so in these times 

 the sites for erecting structures were carefully selected upon the eleva- 

 ted plateaus and alluvial terraces where the salubrity of the air and 

 the fertility of the soil afford peculiar advantages. Frequently the 

 structures occupy the summits of lofty hills overlooking the valleys, 

 and it is noticeable that the situations thus chosen are remarkable for 



