FOURTH REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR I907 97 



should have been selected, when, from the hillock to the west, 

 arrows and stones or other missiles could have been easily thrown 

 into the wall-protected inclosure. This very thing would have 

 rendered the fort of little use in times of war or invasion. Two 

 considerations then appear: first, that it was not a true fortifi- 

 cation designed to protect the inhabitants from men only, but made 

 for a protection from the wolves and other wild beasts which in- 

 fested the region even in historic times ; or second, that the enemies 

 of the age held the acres of the dead as sacred spots and would 

 not under any provocation desecrate the burial ground on the hill 

 to use it as a vantage point from which to assail the living within 

 the inclosure which the burial knoll overlooked. 



Camp site outside of inclosure. To the southwest of the burial 

 knoll rises another glacial kame which in length runs east and west. 

 This kame contained lo large ash pits, the one on the summit being 

 5' deep and filled with carbonaceous earth, burnt sandstone and 

 charred corn. Between this kame and the inclosure, the earth had 

 almost everywhere been disturbed and there was a heavy mixture 

 of white ash and charcoal as if the vegetation and trees had been 

 burned over many times. No implements were found here except 

 a celt at the west end of the kame. 



The soft mellow loam here also suggests its employment as a 

 garden spot, possibly a cornfield. Charred corn was found in some 

 of the pits. 



Age of the remains. Several considerations determine the age 

 of the remains. The absence of European articles at this place 

 is a good indication that it is prehistoric. The difference between 

 the characters of the occupation and those of the early historic 

 Eries points out a pre-Erian or early Erian people. That they 

 were early Iroquoian is evident from an examination of the artifacts 

 but that they were early Erian is manifest by certain differences 

 in form of culture and occupation. The remains would^ seem to 

 be at least 500 years old and even a greater age may be ascribed. 



No detailed description of the osteological remains of the aborig- 

 inal inhabitants of New York has even been attempted. It is the 

 plan of the archeological section, therefore, to begin a systematic 

 study of all the human remains which can be obtained within the 

 limits of the State and finally issue a more or less complete report 

 upon the subject. There is indeed a great need for such a guide, 

 for the scientific value of such data has been almost entirely 

 overlooked. A detailed study of the osteological remains found 



