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ABORIGINAL SITES ON TENNESSEE RIVER. 359 
on the original surface soil, which was about 6 inches in thickness and rested 
upon undisturbed yellow clay. 
The grave had been filled in for a depth of about one foot with musselshells, 
having a small admixture of clay. From this depth upward the proportion of 
shells mingled with the soil became gradually smaller until at the top scattered 
shells were found only here and there. Elsewhere in the mound no such deposit 
of shells was eneountered, and it was evident they had been brought to place 
over the burials in this grave. At the bottom of the grave lay the skeleton of 
an adult partly flexed to the right, probably a male, judging from the size of the 
long-bones, the skull being badly crushed. 
With its skull resting on the thorax of the adult skeleton were the bones of a 
child lying partly flexed on its left side, its pelvis extending somewhat below 
that of the other skeletal parts. Beads made from Olivella shells were at the 
neck and waist of the child's skeleton. The left tibia of the adult skeleton lay 
in its proper position in respect to its femur, with the exception that it was re- 
versed. Probably in conveying the skeleton to the mound the tibia had become 
detached, and when the bone was replaced by the aborigines (which they did not 
always take the trouble to do) it had been reversed as described. 
Моомхр B. 
Mound B, the middle mound of the three, has a height of 4.5 feet, measured 
from the outside. Its diameters are 60 feet and 35 feet. The marginal parts 
of the mound had been plowed away to some extent on two opposite sides, 
which aecounts, in part at least, for the unequal diameters. Otherwise, the 
mound showed no sign of former eultivation. Previous diggers, however, had 
left a hole near the center, but not sufficient in extent to interfere with serious 
investigation. 
An excavation 12 feet square was sunk by us centrally in the mound to its 
base, or at least to what seemed the base indistinctly marked, which was reached 
at a depth of 6 feet. "The mound was of perfectly dry clay and work in it was 
carried on with the aid of picks. 
Burial No. 1 lay at a depth of 2 feet 2 inches and consisted of the lower ex- 
tremities of an adult, flexed. There was no sign of previous digging near these 
bones, and possibly the remainder of the skeleton had decayed away, or, what 
we consider more likely, the burial had been originally a part of a skeleton only, 
such as we found oceasionally in mounds farther up the river. 
Burial No. 2, partly flexed to the right, the head NW., depth 3 feet 10 inches. 
The bones were badly decayed. About one foot from the left shoulder were 
two celts of indurated shale, 7 inches and 5.5 inches long, respectively. With 
these were the remains of a columella of a sea-shell. Over this burial was a 
deposit of musselshells mixed with the clay of the mound. 
Burial No. 3, partly flexed on the left, the head directed ENE., depth 5 feet. 
Here again a deposit of river shells lay just above the burial. A similar deposit 
