﻿FOURTH 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  THE 
  DIRECTOR 
  ICJOJ 
  95 
  

  

  bones, 
  included 
  ribs, 
  pelves, 
  phalanges, 
  astragali 
  tibiae, 
  and 
  verte- 
  

   brae. 
  There 
  were 
  two 
  female 
  skulls. 
  

  

  Burial 
  18. 
  This 
  burial 
  was 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  trench 
  3 
  at 
  19/ 
  and 
  

   18 
  • 
  south 
  of 
  the 
  ossuary 
  (17). 
  On 
  the 
  bottom 
  of 
  the 
  grave 
  a 
  few 
  

   potsherds 
  were 
  discovered 
  but 
  no 
  visible 
  trace 
  of 
  bone. 
  

  

  The 
  problem 
  of 
  the 
  many 
  empty 
  graves 
  in 
  the 
  burial 
  knoll 
  was 
  

   at 
  first 
  a 
  puzzling 
  one. 
  Some 
  graves 
  contained 
  a 
  few 
  ribs, 
  some 
  a 
  

   pelvis, 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  arm 
  bones 
  and 
  teeth 
  and 
  others 
  were 
  entirely 
  

   empty 
  except 
  for 
  traces 
  of 
  bone 
  dust. 
  

  

  As 
  a 
  hypothesis 
  the 
  theory 
  was 
  then 
  advanced 
  that 
  the 
  parts 
  of 
  

   skeletons, 
  the 
  larger 
  limb 
  bones 
  and 
  skulls 
  had 
  been 
  removed 
  from 
  

   the 
  graves 
  and 
  deposited 
  in 
  the 
  ossuaries 
  ; 
  that 
  the 
  graves 
  had 
  been 
  

   left, 
  open 
  or 
  filled, 
  for 
  use 
  again. 
  The 
  ossuary 
  burial 
  is 
  a 
  Huron, 
  

   or 
  perhaps 
  more 
  properly 
  a 
  Huron-Iroquois 
  custom, 
  and 
  has 
  

   usually, 
  perhaps 
  entirely, 
  been 
  held 
  a 
  mere 
  matter 
  of 
  superstition 
  

   or 
  ceremonial 
  custom. 
  The 
  presence 
  of 
  empty 
  graves 
  and 
  over- 
  

   flowing 
  ossuaries 
  suggested 
  the 
  theory 
  of 
  the 
  economic 
  utility 
  of 
  

   the 
  ossuaries. 
  The 
  virgin 
  earth 
  being 
  difficult 
  to 
  dig, 
  but 
  once 
  dis- 
  

   turbed 
  never 
  packing 
  as 
  hard 
  as 
  before, 
  it 
  would 
  have 
  been 
  a 
  matter 
  

   of 
  labor, 
  time 
  and 
  space 
  saving 
  to 
  exhume 
  the 
  remains 
  of 
  the 
  dead 
  

   and 
  reinter 
  them 
  in 
  an 
  ossuary, 
  and 
  to 
  use 
  the 
  empty 
  graves 
  again 
  

   as 
  burial 
  places. 
  

  

  These 
  theories 
  are 
  only 
  tentative 
  and 
  not 
  to 
  be 
  regarded 
  as 
  estab- 
  

   lished 
  until 
  numbers 
  of 
  other 
  places 
  shall 
  have 
  shown 
  the 
  same 
  

   characteristics. 
  It 
  is 
  also 
  of 
  importance 
  that 
  more 
  than 
  one 
  ob- 
  

   server 
  should 
  have 
  noted 
  them. 
  

  

  Excavations 
  within 
  the 
  inclosure. 
  The 
  ground 
  within 
  the 
  

   earth 
  wall 
  has 
  not 
  been 
  disturbed 
  since 
  its 
  aboriginal 
  occupation 
  

   except 
  in 
  places 
  where 
  sugar 
  boilers 
  had 
  been 
  erected. 
  

  

  Over 
  120 
  basinlike 
  depressions 
  were 
  scattered 
  over 
  the 
  surface 
  

   and 
  varied 
  in 
  diameter 
  from 
  3' 
  to 
  io', 
  and 
  in 
  depth, 
  from 
  6" 
  to 
  a 
  

   foot. 
  These 
  pits 
  were, 
  examined 
  to 
  discover 
  their 
  purport. 
  Only 
  

   six 
  yielded 
  anything 
  in 
  the 
  way 
  of 
  relics. 
  These 
  consisted 
  of 
  flint 
  

   chips, 
  fire 
  broken 
  stones, 
  pottery 
  fragments 
  and 
  arrowheads. 
  The 
  

   earth 
  was 
  not 
  disturbed 
  in 
  any 
  case, 
  except 
  in 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  deep 
  

   middle 
  pit, 
  for 
  a 
  depth 
  of 
  more 
  than 
  30", 
  the 
  underlying 
  soil 
  being 
  

   hard 
  and 
  impenetrable 
  by 
  crude 
  implements. 
  

  

  Middle 
  pit. 
  This 
  pit 
  was 
  carefully 
  excavated. 
  The 
  soil 
  was 
  

   disturbed 
  for 
  about 
  9" 
  below 
  its 
  modern 
  surface 
  except 
  at 
  the 
  bottom 
  

   where 
  there 
  was 
  an 
  ash 
  pit 
  4/ 
  in 
  depth 
  and 
  4' 
  in 
  diameter. 
  Mingled 
  

   through 
  the 
  soil 
  of 
  the 
  large 
  pit 
  was 
  found 
  a 
  quantity 
  of 
  pottery, 
  

  

  