THE ARCHEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF NEW YORK 423 



bones grouped in separate deposits. Frequently there is no external 

 evidence of the presence of an ossuary; plowing deeply, trench- 

 ing, excavations for foundations, or deliberate archeological 

 research being the only means by w^hich they may be found. 

 Few have mounds over them. There are good historic accounts of 

 the making of ossuaries. At certain periods of time the graveyards 

 and other places for the disposition of the dead, were opened and 

 the bones gathered to be placed in one spot. In this way, as the 

 Indians expressed it, '' the bones of those who knew each other in 

 life will mingle in common dust." 



Ossuaries have been found in the counties of Jefferson, Livingston, 

 Monroe, Ontario, Onondaga, Genesee, Erie, Cattaraugus, Chautau- 

 qua and Niagara. In New York most of them seem to be Iroquoian, 

 but some in Chautauqua county seem to belong to certain branches 

 of Algonkian or mound-building tribes. 



There is little of importance in ossuaries for archeologists. Few 

 contain any relics. The bones may be of use to a student of anatomy 

 or osteology. In opening an ossuary the earth should be removed 

 and a trench dug entirely around the deposit before any bones are 

 removed. A very careful drawing or a photograph from several 

 angles should then be made. If possible expert archeologists should 

 be invited to be present ; where this is not possible the work of 

 digging should be carefully done and some of the skulls and larger 

 bones sent to some standard museum, preferably the State Museum, 

 the American Aluseum of Natural History or the National Museum. 



It is needless to advise the experienced collector that the bones 

 should never be dug into with spades and scattered in a broken 

 condition over the surface. This is neither sc'entific nor decent. 



Patina. The term patina is applied to the weathered surface and 

 the corrosion on the surface of archeological articles. Patination is 

 due to the disintegration of the surface of the stone through contact 

 with moisture, acid soils, gases, air, and other chemical and physical 

 agencies. Articles of shell frequently have a brown patina, copper 

 a light bluish to dark greenish patina, and various stones have soft 

 chalky surfaces due to exposure and the action of acids or of 

 leach *ng. 



All specimens covered bv patina should be carefullv preserved. 

 The patina should not be disturbed and every effort should be made 

 to keep it. 



Pendants. This term is applied for want of a better one. The 

 pendant stone is shaped much like certain gorget forms but is much 

 thicker and heavier. Some resemble celts, and indeed mav have 



