48 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL.ee 
dissociation and scattering, finally becoming incorporated in the 
stratum then in the process of formation. The facts strongly indi 
cate, on the other hand, that the remains were buried while the flesh 
still covered the bones ; that the burial included the whole body ; and 
that the dissociation and fragmentation occurred later owing to 
moA ements, stresses, root action, and other agencies operating on or 
within the deposits inclosing the body. Taking into consideration 
the nature of the elastic and still only partially decomposed ma 
terials that form layer 3, in the lower part of which in all proba 
bility the burial was made, we are justified in accepting not only as 
a possibility but as a certainty the view that considerable settling 
and other movements must have taken place in this stratum, to which 
must be added the settling following on the decay of the soft parts 
of the corpse itself. Roots of trees doubtless always abounded in 
layer 3, as they do to-day, and these are capable of producing con 
siderable displacements of objects in their vicinity, above all if torn 
out of the ground when a tree is uprooted. Those who have wide 
experience in excavating for skeletal remains know how often these 
show disturbance even under more favorable conditions for their 
preservation in position than in the instance here dealt with. 
A sudden accidental burial of the individual represented by Skele 
ton II can be even more readily excluded than was the case with 
Skeleton I. The muck overlying the bones, although marshy, was of 
a consistency which would not have allowed the sinking in it of a 
human body. A more conclusive proof of an artificial rather than 
an accidental burial, however, lies in the fact that the remains when 
found were distributed in an inclined plane, not in a horizontal posi 
tion. With an Indian burial this would be natural, with an acci 
dental inclosure very improbable. 
The presence of several small bones in what appeared to have been 
a remaining elevation or ridge of the eroded stratum No. 2 can be 
explained only by the assumption of their introduction into the 
stratum subsequent to its deposition. This may have happened 
during the burial or subsequently. If these bones and the remaining 
parts of the skeleton after being found had been exposed by the 
excavators from above as well as from the side, conditions would 
have been seen much more clearly and the explanation would have 
been made easier. 
There was some hope that the quality of the sand in the various 
bones might throw light on their original derivation, and to test this 
four of the specimens w T ere examined, two from the base of stratum 
3 and two from the elevated part attributed to stratum 2. Differ 
ences were actually found, but these were of unexpected nature. One 
bone from each locality showed the presence of coarse sand with 
relatively large, rounded granules, while the other bone from each 
