248 



B. SHIMEK NEBRASKA ''lOESS MAn" 



In the lower stratum "several bones were deeply gnawed by rodents; 

 one or more appear to have been hacked or scraped by some flint blade. "^^ 



"The three skulls buried intrusively were in a mixture of black soil and buff 

 subsoil. The five primitive skulls and certain bones were fragmentary, water- 

 worn, and scattered through four or more vertical feet of original undisturbed 

 loess, and plainly belong to that formation."" 



Later Barbour described the location of the bones as follows :^' 



"The upper two and a half feet of the mound is just such a mixture of black 

 soil and buff subsoil as would naturally result from digging and buryiug. It is 

 loess which has been disturbed. In this superficial layer were the three skulls 

 of a later type, and adjoining them were numerous bones. Below this layer 

 comes clearly defined bright buff undisturbed original loess, with its character- 

 istic lithological structure, its lime nodules and shells ; and through it to a 

 carefully measured depth of seven and one-half feet are scattered bits of 

 human bone. Here were found the five primitive skulls, each one being more 

 or less fragmentary." 



Still later the same writer says :^* 



"Here were found two mound-builder skulls, and below them parts of eight 

 skulls and many bones of a still more primitive type. Two of the skulls are 

 mound builders' in all probability. Together with them was the skull of a 

 young child, differing from the others in color, texture, and thinness of skull 

 wall. It is presumably that of a modern Indian. These were found in the 

 upper layer, readily discernible as a mixture of black soil and light buff sub- 

 soil, such as would result from digging and burying. This layer has a thick- 

 ness of two and a half feet. Below it was a distinct undisturbed layer of un- 

 mistakable loess, and in it to a depth of twelve feet were many fragments of 

 human bones, loess shells, and stray angular pebbles." 



He concludes that the bones "in the loess doubtless antedate the hill 

 itself, while those in the upper layer are subsequent to it." 



Section of the Mound 



THE EXCAVATION 



The writer reescavated the mound and the loess underlying it during 

 each of his three visits and found only fragments of bones, but the strata 

 in which they occurred were distinct. The last excavation extended 

 downward until a depth of 14 feet was reached. A boring with a two 

 and a half inch auger was then made to an additional depth of 17l^ feet. 

 The excavation was also successively extended eastward and northward, 



" Barbour : Nebraska Geological Survey, vol. 11, p. 327. 



" Ibid., pp. 326-327. 



" Putnam's Monthly, January, 1907, p. 503. 



" Nebraska Geological Survey, vol. 11, pp. 333-335. 



