70 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



Very few details have been recorded of the burial ceremonies of 

 the Virginia tidewater Indians. Capt. John Smith mentions the 

 exposure of bodies in a "Tombe, which is an arch made of mats, 

 [where] they lay them orderly." Such a death house, as seen by the 

 artist John White along the coast of North Carolina in 1585, is 

 illustrated in figure 67. This "tombe" apparently was restricted to 

 prominent individuals. How the bodies of this group were finally 

 disposed of is uncertain, for Captain Smith distinguishes the grave 

 pits as "for their ordinary burials." 



The work this season at Patawomeke has a bearing on these points. 

 Of the approximately 100 skeletons encountered in the ossuary, 

 the majority had become or were disarticulated before burial. A few — 

 approximately a dozen adults — however, were observed to be fully 

 articulated (see fig. 69). These articulated skeletons were found on 

 the bottom or along the sides of the pit and hence may have been the 

 first bodies received into the grave. Moreover, these articulated skele- 

 tons all are possibly males and have their arms extended along their 

 sides as do the bodies pictured in White's death house (fig. 67). 

 Also, all of these skeletons have their lower legs flexed unnaturally 

 forward, which would have been a practicable way of shortening an 

 extended body resting on its back. 



There is evidence, on the other hand, that the disarticulated skele- 

 tons were exposed for a considerable period before burial ; in several 

 cases mud dauber nests were found in the skull (fig. 68) or among 

 the bundled bones. This finding indicates that the period of exposure 

 included at least one warm season. Incidentally, these mud dauber 

 nests, which are surely over 300 years old, have been positively 

 identified as to species (Sceliphron cacmcntarium (Drury)) by R. A. 

 Cushman, of the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, 

 United States Department of Agriculture, through their typical form 

 and the remains of the larvae found within the cells. 



Another large mass of charred bones was found this year, and 

 at the opposite end of the pit from that of last year. These bones, 

 which were clearly the remains of several individuals, including chil- 

 dren, had been placed on the sloping side of the pit probably at an 

 early stage of the filling. Among these bones were burned beads of 

 various sizes and one fine pipe bowl. 



With the exception of this pipe and an occasional potsherd, the 

 only grave goods with the skeletons were beads and pendants or 

 gorgets. A small amount of copper found with several individuals 

 suggests that this ossuary may date from the early historic period. 

 Many other points of interest undoubtedly will appear when the col- 

 lections are studied. 



