yS NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



tion was purposely made it represents a development hitherto 

 imknown in New York Indian pottery. 



A few shell beads of native handiwork found in the pits are of 

 the ordinary Iroquoian type. 



Great quantities of animal bones, split and cracked for the mar- 

 row, were found in nearly all the ash pits. Of the animal bones 

 identified the following is a list : beaver, bear, buffalo, elk, deer, 

 raccoon, rabbit, woodchuck, skunk, fisher, squirrel, wildcat, porcu- 

 pine, turtle, sturgeon, catfish, perch, billfish, mullet and pike. 



Vegetable matter preserved by carbonization includes corn, nuts 

 of various kinds, wood, grass, reeds and a section of a hollow pipe 

 stem. 



The thousands of specimens taken from the Ripley site form a 

 most valuable accession to the Museum and represent the first suc- 

 cessful effort to obtain a collection wholly by the research method, 

 iirid by this method only may every scientific requirement be satis- 

 fied. /Vccurate and painstaking notes were made and scores of 

 ir.aps, diagrams, drawings and photographs were made to supple- 

 ment the written descriptions. Every specimen was numbered in 

 the field and a full description of the spot in which it was found, 

 with all the circumstances, was filled in on a data slip. Every 

 ash pit and grave may be mathematically charted on a map of the 

 site made by a careful survey. Every important specimen was 

 photographed exactly as found and all skeletons were carefully 

 exposed and photographed before a bone was moved. 



The rapidity with which the objects were found made it impos- 

 sible to make a complete study in the field, but a full report of the 

 important scientific results of the expedition will be embodied in 

 ^t report to be published at a later date. 



Archeological collections acquired by purchase. Since the 

 last report three large collections of archeological material have been 

 acquired. The first was obtained from Joseph E. Mattern of West 

 Rush. It is especially valuable for the polished slate articles it con- 

 tains as well as for the splendid series of stone and bone objects 

 representative of the Genesee valley. 



A collection of prehistoric Onondaga relics, a collection of relics 

 from Algonkin fishing camps and a collection of objects similar to 

 those of Eskimoan culture, from Jefferson county were purchased 

 from Dr R. W. Amidon of Chaumont. These collections are most 

 valuable for the bone objects of an ancient occupation, which they 

 contain. 



