THE ST. JOHN'S RIVER, FLORIDA. 219 



tinuation of the same margin on the opposite surface. The line, D, C, represents 

 the margin of the larger sheet in the same plane as A, C, while E, C, is the con- 

 tinuation of the edge on the other surface. At X are the rivets which have been 

 driven through to hold the sheets together. Those represented are such as could 

 be detected by a close inspection of the surface, and were subsequently determined 

 positively by the use of acid. Undoubtedly a thorough cleaning of the surface 

 would bring others to light. 



" Here we have an excellent illustration of the production of a plate of desired 

 size by the process of joining by rivets two smaller sheets, the larger of which con- 

 stitutes about two-thirds of the finished plate. The same procedure has been fol- 

 lowed in the production of several of the smaller ornaments in the collection, while 

 in no instance is there evidence of either soldering or brazing, methods which one 

 would certainly expect to note were the articles of European origin. 



" At several points on the surface, H, K, L, where a tendency to exfoliation was 

 evident, rivets were used to hold the loosened edges in place. This is especially 

 marked near the margins and in the corners. The letters indicate only the most 

 evident of the rivets, many others undoubtedly being hidden under the coating of 

 carbonate. 



" The exfoliation, it will be observed, arose not after long exposure in the 

 mound, but during the process of construction of the sheet as evidenced by the 

 rivets. This condition is frequently observed in hammered masses of copper, and 

 in copper ornaments and implements obtained from mounds, and may aid in deter- 

 mining such articles as of aboriginal origin. 



"At several points on the depressed surface of the ornamentation may be seen 

 striae, which have probably come from the rubbing of some implement used to force 

 the copper into corresponding depressions of a mold. 



" In finish, this plate does not equal its companion, though both surfaces had 

 received a certain amount of attention. The line of union of the two sheets can 

 be readily followed throughout the greater part of its course ; the conjoined edges 

 are irregular, and were not so carefully pressed into the underlying sheet." 



From this description we are of the opinion that these plates, with their 

 ingenious system of repair and extension 1 by the aid of rivets, may not under any 

 circumstances be attributed to the handiwork of artisans of Europe. 



MOUND COPPER ARCH^EOLOGICALLY CONSIDERED. 



In estimating the epoch of construction of mounds, the mounds themselves 

 are the most reliable witnesses, and any class of objects found therein is best known 

 by the company it keeps. By consulting the detailed descriptions of the copper- 

 bearing mounds of the St. John's given in this report, it will be seen that the objects 

 of copper were from the base and the body of the mound, associated with products 

 distinctly of aboriginal art, such as polished hatchets of stone, vessels of earthen- 



1 Professor Putnam has referred to the use of rivets for repair, and recently has discovered the ex- 

 tremities of a bracelet joined by rivets. See, also, Fifth Annual Report, Bur. Eth., page 99. 



