ARCHEOLOGY. 27 



of ample size to receive one, or perhaps several extended bodies, and may 

 be three feet in depth, though usually less ; in tough clay soil they are 

 not often over a foot deep and barely large enough for one corpse to be 

 crowded in, either straight or folded to the smallest compass. In most 

 cases the earth seems to have been thrown back directly on the body> 

 though flat stones were sometimes placed over them; there are also faint 

 indications of wood having been interposed. Scarcely a day passes that 

 skeletons are not unearthed somewhere in the State either singly or col- 

 lectively. They are most frequent in gravel beds and alluvial laud, but 

 occur in various other situations, seldom in any definite order. A few, 

 especially on plateaus or hill-tops, are in graves the bottom and sides of 

 which are lined with thin stone slabs. Few artificial objects are with 

 them, principally implements of the chase or simple ornaments. It is 

 quite probable, from the method of burial, and the character of the relics, 

 they are the remains of modern Indians, or at least of a tribe different 

 from the "Mound Builders;" and as they are not numerous in any one 

 place they may represent only a small or temporary camp. 



Of a different nature are some extensive aboriginal cemeteries and 

 village-sites, particularly in the Miami valleys, in which explorations have 

 disclosed hundreds of graves and lodge-sites interspersed in the manner 

 common to many known tribes. Removal of the soil that has formed 

 since their abandonment reveals in the latter the characteristic ash-pile of 

 the central fire, in and around which is scattered all the refuse of a 

 primitive dwelling, along with almost every variety of tool, ornament, or 

 whatever property these people had that could resist decay under such 

 circumstances. The graves are somewhat similar in their construction to 

 those above described being shallow and usually containing only a single 

 skeleton, either extended or folded; but a much greater diversity and 

 amount of personal belongings are found in them and more care seems 

 to have been taken in the burial. 



Remains of this nature have been found in river-bottoms under 

 several feet of silt that is now subject to frequent overflow. 



The discovery of these villages and cemeteries, like that of the 

 graves, has in nearly every case been accidental. The soil above them 

 may be cultivated for generations without a suspicion of what lies 

 beneath until denudation by a freshet, the excavation of a cellar or 

 foundation, or some more trivial cause exposes them. Their present 

 arrangement indicates that wigwams, huts, or whatever form of shelter 

 was in use were placed in any spot convenient to the builders, and inter- 

 ments made almost at random in the spaces between; but a more regular 

 system was probably observed, the apparent lack of order resulting from 

 moving the domicile occasionally; with such methods of living, house 

 moving was easier than house cleaning. In the lapse of time, too, the 

 exact position of graves would be forgotten or disregarded and inter- 

 ments encroach upon those already made. This confusion makes exam- 

 ination tedious and expensive; it is necessary to upturn every square 



