412 SOME ABORIGINAL SITES ON MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 
of aboriginal fire-places, broadly scattered by the plow. One knife and опе chisel, 
both of flint, came from the surface, but no entire arrowheads were met with. 
Two and one-half working days were devoted by us to the dwelling-sites at 
this place. The twenty-nine burials found were rather widely scattered; some were 
near the surface and had been disturbed by the plow. We were informed by Mr. 
Abbey that the part of the plantation on which we were at work had been under 
cultivation since about 1836; consequently, it is likely that many burials have been 
ploughed away in the past. Fragments of human bones lay in all directions over 
the sites. 
But little successful work could be done with the sounding rod at this place 
owing to the number of fire-places below the surface, whose hardened clay impeded 
the passage of the rod. Consequently, trial-holes were practically our only means 
of discovering burials. 
The burials were as follows: 
Adults at full length on the back, 8 
Children, 2 | 
Bunched burials, 18 
Cremation, 1 
The eighteen burials of bones out of anatomical order, in layers and in piles, 
often consisted of the bones of one individual and never included the remains of 
more than three. 
The cremated bones, in rather small fragments, formed a mass about 20 inches 
long, 14 inches wide, with a maximum thickness of 2 inches. 
Although there were picked up on the surface at the Commerce Plantation a 
number of fragments of pottery having rather rude incised and trailed decoration, 
and one bit of ware on which was part of an engraved design, as well as a consid- 
erable number of bits of ware colored red on one side or having on them parts of 
bands of red and of white, but twelve vessels were found by us at this place. These 
vessels consist of eleven bowls of moderate size and one flat bowl or platter. All 
are without decoration of any kind, with the exception of one vessel covered with 
rude punctate marks and of another vessel with a fillet-like decoration around the 
margin of the opening. 
No mussel-shells were found with any of these vessels. 
One child had two vessels; one of the extended burials had two; and two had 
one each. Five bunched burials each had one vessel, and a single vessel lay with 
the cremated remains. When vessels lay near bunched burials they were as a rule 
in the neighborhood of the skulls. 
The sole burial having with it any object other than pottery was that of a 
child about four years of age, which lay at a depth greater than did any other burial 
found by us at this site, namely 3 feet 8 inches. No pottery lay with this inter- 
ment, but on the chest was a face-shaped gorget about 5 inches long, made from the 
body whorl of the conch (Fulgur perversum). This ornament has two holes for sus- 
pension at the top, ог broaderend. The decoration consists of a scallop-like carving 
