AN ERIE INDIAN VILLAGE AND BURIAL SITE 497 



Grave XXIV, pit 49, was at 100' on the west side of trench 4. An 

 ash pit had intruded into the grave pit soil. At 42" from the sur- 

 face the grave bottom was discovered, upon it a thin deposit of bone 

 dust. 



Grave XXV, pit 51, was in trench 5 at 44' on the west side. 

 Dimensions 4' by 6' and 51" deep. This pit contained the skeleton 

 of an aged male which was in an advanced stage of disintegration. 

 At the top of the skull and a little to the rear, southwest, was a 

 clay pot having an ancient rim break. Near the inferior maxillary 

 with the edge of the bowl nearest was a pottery pipe of the 

 Huronian type [see pi. 31, fig. 2]. The position of the skeleton was, 

 head south, face east, right side, flexed [see pi. 8, fig. 2]. 



Grave XXVI, pit 52, in trench 5 was at 48' on the east side and 

 lay directly beneath a tree. The grave bottom was 48" below the 

 surface and the skeleton had all but crumbled, probably owing to 

 the fact that it lay in the clay stratum which had prevented drain- 

 age and thus promoted decay. Above the skull, that is to the north 

 and east was a terra cotta vessel which broke in a dozen pieces when 

 removed. The pottery is of poor temper and seems to have been 

 insufficiently baked. Perhaps it had been hurriedly molded and 

 quickly fired especially for interment with the body of the dead. 

 The bones were long and slender and might have been judged to 

 have been those of a woman had not an examination of the skull 

 revealed well developed superciliary ridges over the orbits. Orienta- 

 tion : head east, face south, right side, flexed position. 



Grave XXVII, pit 54, in trench 5 lay at 55' on the west side. 

 55" below the surface a deposit of bone dust was found in the clay 

 stratum. 



Grave XXVIII, pit 56, at 66' on the west side of trench 5 was an 

 empty grave. Several pits of this character have been noted but 

 have not been recorded here. That they are graves seems apparent 

 because the earth is disturbed and loose while the surrounding soil 

 v/as compact. Either these excavations are the remains of very old 

 burials or are the remains of burials from which the skeletons had 

 been removed in accord with the old Huron-Iroquois custom that 

 prescribed a removal of bones from graves at stated periods. 



Grave XXIX, pit 57, was found at the beginning of trench 8. At 

 29" from the surface was found a thin layer of bone dust. A 

 crushed vessel lay back of where the skull had probably lain. 



Grave XXX, pit 58, in trench 9 was at 3' on the west side of the 

 trench. This pit was rectangular in outline, being 42" wide and 



