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CERTAIN MOUNDS ОЕ ARKANSAS AND OF MISSISSIPPI. 567 
(January—February, 1908), it having become evident to us that our search was 
inadequately rewarded, we determined to change to another field, after having 
worked on the Yazoo river as far northward as Racetrack Landing, 187 miles by 
water above Vicksburg; and to George lake on the Sunflower river, 17 miles by 
river above its union with the Yazoo. 
The Yazoo and Sunflower river region forms part of a great alluvial plain that 
is subject to overflow and is almost without high ground of any sort. Hence our 
investigation was greatly hampered, since permission to dig was refused in some 
instances, and restricted in many others, owing to the necessity for landowners to 
preserve their mounds for the use of cattle and hogs (and for the inhabitants on 
occasion) in periods of high water. The need to leave the mounds, therefore, in as 
good condition as that in which they were found and without involving any part of 
them which might be exposed to wash of water, accounts for many instances of 
incomplete investigation on our part. 
Presumably, however, the result of our research was not materially affected 
by our limitations, as enough work was done, we think," to prove the preponderance 
of domiciliary mounds in the Yazoo—Sunflower region and to show that the placing 
of artifacts with the dead was not widely practised there. 
Two points of interest, however, were demonstrated by our work : 
According to Du Pratz, no tribe of Louisiana practised cremation—referring, 
of course, to the great region then known as Louisiana, of which the Yazoo 
territory formed a part. 
As our report on the Yazoo country will show, cremation was practised there 
in aboriginal times. Hence we must conclude that the custom antedated the time 
of Du Pratz’s sojourn in the region (1718 and later), or, which is more likely, that 
this author, though a careful observer, was not able accurately to report on all the 
customs of so extended a territory. 
Another point determined by our work relates to urn-burial. 
When we wrote our paper on * Urn-burial in the United States,” * we were 
unable to cite an instance of the discovery of an aboriginal urn-burial in Missis- 
sippi. Our work on the Yazoo shows it to have been practised there upon one 
occasion at least. 
No skulls or other skeletal remains, in a condition to keep, were found by us 
іп the Yazoo-Sunflower region. 
We shall now proceed to describe our work in detail, first tendering the warm 
thanks of the Academy of Natural Sciences to all owners of mounds or of 
aboriginal dwelling-sites, who so kindly granted us permission to dig in a region 
where for reasons we have explained, the favor sometimes involved personal 
sacrifice. 
1 We will gladly transfer to any institution or to any responsible individual willing to undertake 
the work, all the data as to mounds, and letters of permission relating to that part of the Yazoo and 
Sunflower rivers covered by our agents, but not investigated by us. 
2 Op. cit., Vol. ILI, p. 24. | 
з American Anthropologist, Oct.-Dec., 1904. 
