MAP OP THE ANCIENT REMAINS OF MAD RIVER VALLEY. 



This map will contain the exact location and dimensions of all the 

 mounds and earth-works situated in the valley of Mad river and of 

 its tributaries, and will constitute a valuable contribution to the gen- 

 eral archaeological map of Ohio. The importance of this work can 

 hardly be over-estimated. Already many of the smaller earth-works 

 have disappeared, having been destroyed through constant cultivation 

 of the soil, and their location must be a matter of uncertainty and 

 can be determined only by tradition. This process of destruction is 

 going on with ever increasing rapidity and thoroughness under the 

 demands of agriculture, so that in a few years it will be too late to 

 .secure the record of the site and extent of these ancient land marks. 

 And yet there has been no period since their earliest discovery when 

 so much interest has been aroused upon the subject of these x-emains, 

 as at the present. The vast amount of material brought together at 

 the Centennial Exposition and viewed by thousands from all sections 

 of the country not only excited an intense interest in all matters per- 

 taining to the prehistoric inhabitants of the continent, but it has also 

 had the farther effect of spreading an intelligent appreciation among 

 people every where of the character and variety of the relics found 

 in the soil, and of the importance of collecting and preserving them. 

 Of equal interest also are the earth-works and mounds, the only 

 structures which have been left by time, as indestructible, when un- 

 disturbed by the hand of man, as the stone implements themselves. 

 From these last must be gathered the greater part of all that can ever 

 be known concerning the customs, domestic, ceremonial and religious, 

 of their builders and of the degree of their civilization. The plan of 

 the Association, in selecting a definite and limited field for its opera- 

 tions in this direction, will, it is believed, be productive of more valu- 

 able results than can be secured by desultory surveys and excavations 

 in different parts of the State, and the work thus accomplished will 

 supplement the labors of other similar societies. In the work of pre- 

 paring the archseological map of Ohio the Association will cordially 

 co-operate with these societies. 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE. 



From the organization of the Association up to the present time 

 the monthly meetings have been quite regularly held, and considering 

 the small number constituting its membership, the meetings have 

 been well attended. At these meetings discussions have been held 



