wbbb] ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF NORRIS BASIN 221 



surface ; others at the depth of 6 feet, and at intermediate depths. There was 

 always around the place where these had stood, a bed of coals and ashes, and 

 in some of them pieces of charred human bones. 38 



It is believed that the layers of yellow sand and burned clay were 

 town-house floors — several of them — one above the other. Clearly 

 the burials were intrusive in this mound. They were all in the 

 "upper layer." Many had a layer of burnt clay above them which 

 was "usually broken up." That is to say, the burial pit intruded into 

 the mound after the collapse of the town house was dug through 

 the last town-house floor which was of hard clay. This layer of clay 

 was broken through. After the burial was made, the portions of the 

 layer were thrown back and quite correctly described by the 

 excavator. 



Further, for the first time there is a report of burnt stakes which 

 were clearly the remains of the logs in the wall of a town house. 

 Finally, there is a report of post molds. This mention of molds is 

 only incidentally made in connection with the finding of the "so- 

 called stakes." Perhaps if no "stakes" had been found, the molds 

 would not have been found, or, if found, not mentioned. It is a 

 matter of regret that the excavator does not give a hint as to the 

 pattern of arrangement of these "stakes" and "impressions." It 

 would have been very satisfying if he could have reported the form 

 of the pattern. While information on this point is now forever lost, 

 acknowledgment must be made of the very important statement that 

 of these "impressions", "some were observed within 3 feet of the 

 surface — others at a depth of 6 feet and at intermediate depths." 

 Here clearly is a definite statement that these post molds were at 

 different levels. It seems reasonable to infer that there were at least 

 three levels of molds in "Big Toco Mound", which would definitely 

 suggest three structures erected in succession on this site. 



While it may not be wholly profitable to attempt to glean informa- 

 tion from former excavations by reinterpreting the data, the opinion 

 is expressed, with no thought of criticism of earlier work, that had 

 a different method of excavation been employed on the sites on Little 

 Tennessee Kiver, and had more importance been attached to obtain- 

 ing information, rather than burials, much additional information 

 could have been obtained. Had a definite search for post-mold pat- 

 terns been made, they would, it is believed, have been found in every 

 one of these large mounds, each of which is centrally located in an 

 old town of the Over Hill Cherokee. 



From this study of the early history of East Tennessee it would 

 appear that the valleys of the Clinch and Powell Rivers were in the 

 midst of a territory claimed by the Six Nations — the North Iroquois — 



s 6 Ibid., pp. 379-382. 



