﻿AN 
  ERIE 
  INDIAN 
  VILLAGE 
  AND 
  BURIAL 
  SITE 
  53 
  1 
  

  

  Date 
  of 
  occupation. 
  From 
  the 
  testimony 
  of 
  the 
  records 
  it 
  would 
  

   thus 
  appear 
  that 
  the 
  inhabitants 
  of 
  the 
  Ripley 
  site 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  

   Eries. 
  The 
  testimony 
  of 
  the 
  relics 
  leads 
  to 
  the 
  conclusion 
  that 
  this 
  

   occupation 
  was 
  of 
  the 
  early 
  historic 
  period. 
  Without 
  doubt 
  the 
  site 
  

   bridges 
  the 
  prehistoric 
  to 
  the 
  historic. 
  That 
  it 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  earlier 
  

   than 
  1654 
  is 
  known 
  from 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  Eries 
  were 
  expelled 
  from 
  

   their 
  territories 
  by 
  the 
  confederated 
  Iroquois 
  in 
  1654. 
  That 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  

   as 
  late 
  as 
  1654 
  appears 
  from 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  by 
  this 
  date 
  the 
  Eries 
  had 
  

   opportunity 
  to 
  trade 
  extensively 
  with 
  Europeans 
  and 
  yet 
  few 
  

   European 
  articles 
  were 
  discovered. 
  Other 
  Erie 
  sites, 
  notably 
  one 
  

   forty 
  miles 
  east, 
  known 
  as 
  the 
  Silverheels 
  site 
  on 
  the 
  Cattaraugus 
  

   reservation, 
  explored 
  by 
  Prof. 
  M. 
  Raymond 
  Harrington 
  and 
  the 
  

   author 
  in 
  1903, 
  contained 
  great 
  quantities 
  of 
  European 
  artifacts 
  and 
  

   metal. 
  From 
  the 
  time 
  the 
  Dutch 
  entered 
  New 
  York 
  and 
  the 
  colony 
  

   of 
  Jamestown 
  was 
  settled, 
  the 
  Eries 
  had 
  opportunity 
  to 
  acquire 
  

   articles 
  by 
  trade 
  with 
  other 
  Indians, 
  especially 
  the 
  Iroquois. 
  Con- 
  

   sidering 
  all 
  things 
  one 
  would 
  be 
  strongly 
  led 
  to 
  place 
  the 
  date 
  of 
  the 
  

   cession 
  of 
  occupation 
  before 
  1610. 
  It 
  is 
  highly 
  probable, 
  moreover, 
  

   that 
  the 
  first 
  occupation 
  of 
  the 
  site 
  was 
  early 
  in 
  the 
  17th 
  century 
  if 
  

   not 
  during 
  the 
  last 
  few 
  years 
  of 
  the 
  16th. 
  

  

  Description 
  of 
  implements 
  

   Stone 
  

   Objects 
  of 
  rough 
  stone 
  

  

  The 
  rough 
  and 
  massive 
  stone 
  objects 
  requiring 
  but 
  slight 
  modifi- 
  

   cation 
  from 
  natural 
  forms 
  to 
  adapt 
  them 
  to 
  the 
  purposes 
  intended, 
  

   include 
  hoes, 
  anvils, 
  shaft 
  rubbing 
  stones, 
  pitted 
  hammer 
  stones, 
  lap- 
  

   stones, 
  net 
  sinkers, 
  rounded 
  pebbles, 
  mortars 
  and 
  some 
  celtlike 
  im- 
  

   plements. 
  

  

  Figure 
  1 
  in 
  plate 
  19 
  illustrates 
  a 
  flat 
  piece 
  of 
  shale 
  which 
  has 
  

   been 
  roughly 
  shaped 
  and 
  from 
  its 
  marks 
  of 
  use 
  evidently 
  has 
  been 
  

   used 
  for 
  a 
  digging 
  implement, 
  perhaps 
  a 
  hoe. 
  Objects 
  of 
  this 
  class 
  

   were 
  not 
  common, 
  this 
  specimen 
  being 
  the 
  only 
  complete 
  one 
  found 
  

   on 
  the 
  site. 
  Large 
  numbers 
  of 
  rounded 
  water-washed 
  pebbles 
  were 
  

   found 
  distributed 
  over 
  the 
  site. 
  All 
  had 
  been 
  brought 
  from 
  the 
  lake 
  

   shore 
  and 
  they 
  were 
  not 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  undisturbed 
  soil. 
  These 
  peb- 
  

   bles 
  varied 
  in 
  size 
  from 
  2 
  inches 
  to 
  5 
  inches 
  in 
  diameter 
  and 
  most 
  of 
  

   them 
  show 
  signs 
  of 
  use. 
  Many 
  seem 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  heated 
  in 
  fires 
  

   and 
  others 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  used 
  as 
  hammers 
  or 
  anvils. 
  Round 
  pebbles 
  

   were 
  also 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  graves 
  but 
  nothing 
  there 
  was 
  discovered 
  

  

  