CERTAIN ABORIGINAL REMAINS OF THE ALABAMA RIVER, 331 



Five objects of iron, one the link of a chain, some others possibly spikes, were 

 found with burials at all depths — even at the base of the mound. 



SILVER. 



An undecorated gorget of silver, roughly circular, 1.9 inches in diameter, lay 

 near a burial. 



GLASS. 



Glass beads were present in five or six instances, some near the base. 



Close to the base was the skeleton of a dog, the skull of which, though the 

 skeleton was of post-Columbian origin and possibly of mixed breed, was sent to 

 Professor Putnam who is now engaged in a careful study of aboriginal dogs, 1 in the 

 hope that it might prove useful for comparison. 



The existence of a pre-Columbian dog is denied by no one. 



Cabeca de Vaca on his long journey among the tribes before unseen by white 

 men, repeatedly encountered dogs, as did the expedition under De Soto. Upon one 

 occasion many dogs served as food for De Soto's men on the upper Coosa, a part of 

 the Alabama river. 



We have found skeletal remains of dogs in Florida shell-heaps 2 which are 

 undoubtedly pre-Columbian and skeletons of dogs were present, singly, in certain 

 mounds opened by us in Florida 3 and in South Carolina, 4 while in some of the 

 Georgia sea-islands 5 man's truest friend was accorded a regular sepulture in the 

 general burial mounds. 



ASSOCIATION OF OBJECTS. 



In a post-Columbian mound the association of objects with burials is of pecu- 

 liar interest, showing the use of articles obtained from the whites along with objects 

 of purely aboriginal origin. Not to weary the reader with too long a list we give 

 a few examples. 



With the skeleton of a child were two shell gorgets and two pins of shell. 



With bones of an adult were : an undecorated gorget of shell ; two fine shell 

 pins; massive beads of shell; a flat, oblong shell bead with double perforation ; and 

 two glass beads. 



A stone hatchet, shell beads and two copper pendants lay together, 8 feet down. 



1 "Thirty-second Annual Report Peabody Museum," page 4. 



2 "American Naturalist," July, 1893. 



3 "Certain Sand Mounds of the St. John's River, Florida." Part II. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. 

 Phila., Vol. X, pg. 157. " Florida Coast Mounds North of the St. Johns River," pg. 25. Privately 

 printed, Philadelphia, 1896. 



4 "Certain Aboriginal Mounds, Coast of South Carolina." Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., Vol. 

 XI, pg. 149. 



5 " Certain Aboriginal Mounds of the Georgia Coast." Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., Vol. XI, 

 pg. 127 et al. 



