ANTHROPOLOGY
LIBRARY
INTRODUCTION
Study of North American Archaeology.
BY
PROF. CYRUS THOMAS,
Author of "Report on Mound Explorations" (Twelfth Annual Report of the
Bureau of American Ethnology); "Catalogue of Prehistoric Works East of
the Rocky Mountains"; "A Study of the Manuscript Troano"; "Burial
Mounds of the Northern Sections oi the United States"; "Aids to
the Study of the Maya Codices"; "Notes on Certain Maya and
Mexican Manuscripts"; "Problem of the Ohio Mounds";
"The Cherokees in Pre-Columbian Times"; etc.
SECOND IMPRESSION.
OF THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
CINCINNATI :
THE ROBERT CLARKE COMPANY,
1903.
COPYRIGHT. 1S9S,
BY THE ROBERT CLARKE COMPANY
6/
ANTHROP.
, LIBRARY
MAJOR JOHN WESLEY POWELL,
To whose efficient work as Director of the Bureau of American Ethnology
students of ethnology are so largely indebted
for the recent additions made to the data relating to Forth America;
and to whose aid and encouragement
is mainly due whatever success the writer may have achieved
in his special line,
his work is respectfully dedicated
BY THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE.
The little volume herewith presented to the public
is a brief resume of the progress which has been
made, up to the present time, in the investigation
and study of North American archaeology. The in
creased activity among students devoting attention to
the subject, the numerous explorations made, the
rapid accumulation of data and the flood of light
thrown on the questions relating to prehistoric North
America since the publication of the last general
work relating thereto, call for a new summary.
Whether the work now offered meets this demand
must be left for the readers to decide. That some
parts of the broad field have been left unnoticed is
admitted, the attention being confined chiefly to the
more important characteristic features, as those best
calculated to form an INTRODUCTION to the subject ;
and as best calculated to interest the reader and
younger students. With such an object in view,
pages broken or interrupted by foot-notes are not
only out of place, but often serve to break the thread
the reader is following, or prove an interruption to
his line of thought ; reference notes have therefore
been entirely omitted.
The opinion held by Maj. J. W. Powell that the
M
vi Preface.
Indians found inhabiting the Atlantic division of
North America and their ancestors were the builders
of the mounds in that region, which the explorations
of the Bureau of American Ethnology under his
charge have done much to confirm, has been adopted.
And, in general, the conclusions reached by the Bureau
of American Ethnology in reference to questions re
lating to language and archaeology, so far as these ex
tend, have been accepted and used as a basis for further
steps in the investigation. But the author alone
must be held responsible for any views advanced
herein which have not been generally accepted, or in
regard to which there are different opinions.
I take pleasure in acknowledging here the favors I
have received from Maj. J. W. Powell, Director of
the Bureau of American Ethnology, and Prof. W. J.
McGee, Ethnologist in Charge, in the use of books,,
pamphlets and other literary aids needed in my work,
and the privilege of obtaining numerous electrotypes
of the illustrations herein used, favors, however,
which have always been willingly extended to all co-
workers. I also wish to acknowledge the favors re
ceived from Prof. W. H. Holmes, in the privilege of
copying illustrations of and profuse borrowing from
his late work on the cities of Mexico, published by the
Field Columbian Museum ; also to Mr. F. W. Hodge,
of the Bureau of American Ethnology, for information
communicated and papers furnished relating to the
Preface. vii
Pueblo region. In addition to the illustrations ob
tained from the Bureau publications, others have
been copied from figures in the U. S. Geological Sur
vey, National Museum, etc. Acknowledgment to the
various authors from whose works information has
been drawn will be found in the text, the authors
names from whose works and papers illustrations
have been obtained either directly or indirectly, are
added after the numbers in the list of illustrations,
the original being referred to where it is possible.
The numbers in the list of illustrations not followed
by the author s name are either original figures,
modifications of other figures, or theoretical restora
tions by the present writer.
CONTENTS.
PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS PAGE
The object, scope and plan of the work 1
MATERIALS FOR STUDY AND CLASSIFICATION 8
METHODS OF STUDY 22
ARCTIC DIVISION
Monuments and local antiquities 35
Implements, ornaments, etc 40
Culture home of the Eskimo 43
ATLANTIC DIVISION 48
Monuments and local antiquities 50
Mounds 51
Burial mounds 61
Vessels, implements and ornaments 79
Pottery 87
Long-necked bottles 94
The gulf province 97
Pipes 98
Articles of shell 103
Textile fabrics 108
Copper articles 109
Articles of stone 113
Inclosures and pyramidal mounds 117
Prehistoric movements of population 121
Hut-rings and house-sites 132
Antiquity and authors of the mounds 138
Duration of the mound-building age 147
Inclosures and other mural works.. . 152
x Contents.
PAGE.
PACIFIC DIVISION 16!)
North Pacific section Athapascan region 170
North Pacific coast 1 76
California section 187
Prehistoric movements of population 200
Intermontane or pueblo section. 203
Cave-dwellings 205
Cliff-dwellings 208
Ruins on the plateaus and in the valleys 215
Gila valley and Chihuahua 221
Builders of the cliff-houses , 229
Mexican section civilization 233
Monuments of southern Mexico 252
Monuments of southern Mexico continued 264
Monuments of Central America 276
Chichen-Itza, Tikal and Copan 296
Migrations of the Mexican and Central American tribes 312
Migrations of certain Mayan tribes 328
Origin and development of Central American civilization. . . 339
Priests, hieroglyphs and calendar 356
CONCLUSION . . 368
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
1. Bone spear head, Eskimo. (Dall.) 37
2. Stone lamp, Eskimo. (Dall.) 37
3. Labret, Eskimo. (Dall.) 38
4. Remains of an ancient Eskimo house. (Boas.) 39
5. Ulu, or woman s knife, Eskimo. (Mason.) 41
6. Soapstone pot, Eskimo. (Murdoch.) 42
7. Hafted jade adze, Eskimo. (Murdoch.) 42
8. Skin scraper, Eskimo. (Murdoch.) 43
9. Flint flaker, Eskimo. (Murdoch.) 43
10. Plat of mound group, Wisconsin. (Thomas.) 52
11. Terraced mound, Arkansas. (Thomas.) 54
12. Elephant mound, Wisconsin. (Thomas.) 56
13. Group of chain mounds, Wisconsin. (Thomas.) 57
14. Section of Mississippi mound. (Thomas.) 63
15. Section of mound in eastern Tennessee. (Thomas.) 66
16. Earthern pot, eastern Tennessee. (Thomas.) 67
17. Shell ear ornament or hair pin, North Carolina. (Thomas.). 67
18. Engraved shell, North Carolina. (Thomas.) 68
19. Soapstone pipe, east Tennessee. (Thomas.) 68
20. Beehive vaults, North Carolina. (Thomas.) 69
21. Soapstone pipe, North Carolina. (Thomas.) 70
22. Stone-grave cemetery, Illinois. (Thomas.) 72
23. Triangular pit, North Carolina. (Thomas.) 80
24. Position of skeletons in an east Tennessee mound.
(Thomas.) 85
25. Copper hawk s-bell, east Tennessee. (Thomas.) 86
26. Clay vessel, Canada. (Boyle.) 88
(xi)
xii List of Illustrations.
PAGE,
27. Outline figures of bowls. (Holmes.) 89
28. Ornamental bowl, Tennessee. (Thruston.) 89
29. Animal-shaped bowl, Arkansas. (Holmes.) 90
30. Bird-shaped bowl, Arkansas. (Holmes.) 90
31. Pot-shaped vessel, Arkansas. (Holmes.) 91
32. Pot-shaped vessel, west Tennessee. (Holmes.) 91
33. Wide-mouthed bottles. (Holmes.) 92
34. (a) Oppossum vase, Arkansas. (Holmes.) 92
(b) Sunfish vase, Arkansas. (Holmes.) 93
35. Bowl representing the human head, Arkansas. (Holmes.). 93
36. Winged and crested rattlesnake design, Ark. (Holmes.). 94
37. Outline figures of long-necked bottles. (Holmes.) 94
38. Eccentric shapes in long-necked bottles. (Holmes.) 94
39. Owl-shaped bottle, east Tennessee. (Thomas.) 95
40. Burial urn, Georgia. (Jones.) 97
41. Vessel with four legs, Georgia. (Jones.) 97
42. (a and b) Stemless pipes. (Boyle.) 99
43. Image pipe, Georgia. (Thomas.) 99
44. Image pipe, Arkansas. (Thomas.) 100
45. (a, b and c) Short-necked pipes. (Thomas.) 100
46. " Monitor " pipe 101
47. Engraved shell, Arkansas. (Thomas.) 104
48. Shell gorget, Tennessee. (Jones.) ... 106
49. Shell gorget, Georgia. (Thomas.) 106
50. Figured copper plate, Georgia. (Thomas.) Ill
51. Figured copper plate, Illinois. (Thomas.) 112
52. Figured copper plate, Illinois. (Thomas.) 112
53. Stone image, Tennessee. (Thomas.) 114
54. Stone image, Tennessee. (Thomas.) 114
55. Banner stones 115
56. Arrow heads. (Mercer.) 116
57. Mound with graded way, Georgia. (Thomas.) 118
58. Double terraced mound, Arkansas. (Thomas.) 119
59. Selsertown mound, Mississippi. (Thomas.) 120
60. Newark works, Ohio. (Thomas.) 122
List of Illustrations. xiii
PAGE.
61. " Hill Fort," Ohio. (Thomas.) 126
62. Linn works, Illinois. (Thomas.) 128
63. "Angel mounds," Indiana. (Thomas.) 130
64. House site, Arkansas. (Thomas.) 134
65. Supposed method of lathing houses. (Thomas.) 135
66. Surface effigy, South Dakota. (Thomas. ) 149
67. Dene stone war club, British America. (Morice.) 173
68. Stone war club, Colorado. (Wickersham.) 173
69. North-west coast pictograph. (Niblack.) 178
70. Ceremonial dress of Chilkat chief, north-west coast.
(Niblack.) 178
71. Totem posts of north-west coast. (Niblack.) 179
72. Relics from southern California 188
73. Manner of walling up the front of a cave-dwelling.
(Holmes.) 207
74. Cliff-dwelling on the Rio Mancos. (Holmes.) 210
75. Ruins at Aztec Springs. (Holmes.) 216
76. Village group, Arizona. (Mindeleff.) 218
77. Ground plan of the Pueblo Bonito. (Jackson.) 219
78. Ground plan of Casas Grandes. (Bandelier.) 224
79. Ground plan of a building at Casas Grandes. (Bartlett.) . . 228
80. Mayan day symbols 242
81 . Mexican day symbols 242
82. Part of the inscription of the Tablet of the Cross, Palen-
que. (Photograph.) 246
83. Pyramid at Los Edificios , 253
84. Sculptured column, Tula 257
85. Ruins of Teotihuacan. (Holmes.) 258
86. Ground plan of Teotihuacan building. (Holmes.) 261
87. Ruins of the temple of Xochicalco. (Nadaillac: " L Am.
Prehist.") 265
88. Ruins at Mitla. (Holmes.) 269
89. Room with columns, Mitla. (Holmes.) 271
90. Fretwork in the grand palace, Mitla. (Holmes.) 272
91 . Painted designs, Mitla. (Holmes. ) 273
xiv List of Illustrations.
PAGE.
92. Plan of the ruins at Palenque. (Holmes.) 278
93. Ground plan of the palace, Palenque. (Holmes.) 279
94. Cross-section of palace, Palenque. (Holmes.) 280
95. Part of Palenque palace restored 281
96. Ground plans of Temples at Palenque. (Holmes.) 282
97. Sculptured lintel, Lorillard City. (Photograph.) 286
98. Plan of ruins at Uxmal. (Holmes.) 289
99. Ornamentation on the governor s palace, Uxmal. (Holmes.) 290
100. Section of the Casa del Gobernador. (Holmes.) 292
101. Ornamentation on the nun s palace, Uxmal. (Holmes.).. 293
102. Ground plan of nunnery, Chichen-Itza. (Holmes.) 298
103. Elephant trunk figure, Yucatan 299
304. Vertical section of the Caracol, or tower, Chichen-Itza.
(Holmes.) 299
105. Ground plan of the tower, Chichen-Itza. (Holmes.) 300
106. Atlantean figure, Chichen-Itza. (Holmes.) 301
107. Ground plan of ruins, Copan. (Maudslay.) 308
108. Vertical section, main group, Copan. (Maudslay.) 309
INTRODUCTION
TO THE
Study of North American Archaeology
CHAPTER I.
PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS.
Archaeology in its widest sense and by derivation
includes the investigation of the origin, language, be
liefs, customs, arts every thing, in a word, that can
be learned of the ancient life of a people. It is in
this sense that it is used in the title of this work, and
not in the more limited scope to which its modern use
has a tendency to restrict it, notwithstanding the ef
forts of lexicographers to retain its original meaning.
The work is intended really as an introduction to the
study of prehistoric North America, of the people as
well as the monuments. To gather and describe an
tiquities, although thoroughly and intelligently done,
is by no means all of archaeology. True, these are
to archaeology what the unfashioned and unadjusted
materials of which the house is to be built are to the
house, but they are not the house. The monuments
are the tombs of past ages ; the work of archaeology
in its broad sense is to revivify the dead, to put life
into the past, and, so far as possible, to bring before
1
2 Study of North American Archaeology.
the mind the ancient people with their activities,
characteristics and customs. In other words, the
chief object in view in the study of archaeology is the
man of bygone ages. It is with this idea in view
that this Introduction to the Study of North American
Archaeology has been written, but only as an intro
duction, for the field is too broad to be covered in one
small volume.
The problems which confront the student of Ameri
can archaeology are exceedingly difficult, and some of
them seemingly beyond the possibility of solution be
cause of the sheer break between the historic and
prehistoric eras. Omitting the discovery of Greenland
and possibly the north-east coast of the continent by
the Northmen in the tenth or eleventh century, which
left no impress, the history of the western world be
gins with the discovery of the West Indies by Colum
bus in 1492 ; all that lie back of that date belong to
the prehistoric era, a gloom, so to speak, unlight-
ened by a single deciphered page of history. In the
Old World there are few regions in regard to whose
past there are no recorded hints which can be used as
stepping stones in the backward march ; in other
words, history and prehistory are dovetailed, so to
speak, one with another, but not so in the New
World.
These difficulties have possibly caused more than
one student to feel as Palgrave, who, in apparent de
spair over the unsatisfactory results of the efforts, up
to his day, to lift the veil which shuts out the past, ex
claims : "We must give it up, that speechless past ;
whether fact or chronology, doctrine or mythology ;
whether in Europe, Asia, Africa or America ; at
Preliminary Observations. 3
Thebes or Palenque, on Lycian shore or Salisbury
Plains; lost is lost, gone is gone forever." But a
different spirit animates the students of the present
day, the very difficulties in the way are themselves so
many incentives to attacks. What seemed beyond
human reach to the London antiquary and historian
sixty years ago, is deemed by scholars of the closing
years of the nineteenth century to be, in a large de
gree, attainable. The veil, which Palgrave looked
upon as fixed and immovable, has been lifted at nu
merous points and rays of light let in upon the past.
Some of the problems which were, fifty years ago,
yea, but twenty-five, deemed impossible of solution,
have been satisfactorily solved, and have now become
foundation stones in the archaeological structure.
It is true, as Sir John Lubbock remarks : "In at
tempting to reconstruct the story of the past, students
have too often allowed imagination to usurp the place
of research, and have written in the spirit of the nov
elist rather than in that of the philosopher." The
hundreds of dust-covered works on the subject of pre-
Columbian America, and the origin of its people,
which now lie, well nigh forgotten, on the shelves of
libraries, bear testimony to the truth of this remark,
as do also the numerous discarded theories relating
thereto. Nevertheless theories will continue to be ad
vanced, indeed must be if progress is made in the
study of the past, especially where so many links of
the chain are still wanting as in American archae
ology. The investigating spirit of the age will not
brook delay ; wherever there is an unbroken field
some scientific plow is sure to enter, though but poorly
equipped for the work. However, of late years more
4 Study of North American Archaeology.
strict methods of approaching the many problems in
volved have been introduced, and now, instead of at
tempting by imagination or theorizing to reach con
clusions at once, slow and patient investigation is the
process pursued. The spade has to a large extent re
placed the pen, and instead of building theories
chiefly by imagination, there is a careful sifting of all
the evidence which appears to have any bearing on
the subject. The fragments of data are fitted to
gether and tentative theories deduced simply as a
plan of further progress, often however to be cast
aside or modified, as new material, which will not
readily drop into place, is discovered.
As no intelligent student will continue his investi
gations of the ancient monuments for any consider
able length of time without forming theories in regard
to the uses, age and authors of the works examined,
it is all important to his progress to know which of
the questions that arise have been completely or par
tially answered, and to ascertain which of the numer
ous theories advanced in regard to the various ques
tions have been definitely eliminated by universal
consent from the class possessing elements of possi
bility. This knowledge will clear from his pathway
much of the rubbish which would otherwise encumber
it. Another important point is to know the lines
along which the opposing views are being pushed by
their respective advocates. Although it is undoubtedly
the part of wisdom to hold in restraint the disposition
to theorize, this knowledge directs the careful student s
attention to numerous points which might otherwise
be overlooked in his investigations. It is for this
reason that the author of this little work has ventured
Preliminary Observations. 5
to briefly outline the theories relating to some of the
more important problems which must confront the
student of American archaeology. The chief object,
however, will be to present the data, and to arrange
them so as to afford the student some means of bring
ing into harmony and utilizing his facts and materials.
But as it is manifestly impossible to present in a
single small volume a full account of the archaeologic
remains of the continent, and discuss all the questions
which arise in connection therewith, only those con
sidered the best representatives of the leading types
and those which best illustrate the art, customs and
culture status of the former inhabitants will be re
ferred to.
The writer, as those who peruse this work will ob
serve, has not entered into a discussion of the question
of the so-called paleolithic age, or glacial man in
America, for the reason that he does not believe the
evidence on which the theory is based, as yet sufficient
to justify its acceptance. The results of the more re
cent investigations in America, or at least North
America, all tend in the other direction. One by one
the strongholds of the advocates are being overturned,
and the evidence on which the theory is based dis
counted. The author feels constrained to the belief
that peopled America though old in years bears no
where such marks of antiquity as are to be found
in some parts of the Eastern Continent. To accept the
antiquity which has been assigned by the advocates of
this theory to the early inhabitants would, as the
writer thinks, require in order to be consistent an en
tire recasting of all the more stable theories which
have been propounded. "Paleolithic" as a clescriptive
6 Study of North American Archaeology.
term is of minor importance, but as a theory which
would carry back the presence of man in America to
that immensely distant era which has been assigned
is a very different thing.
Mr. Keary remarks in the opening paragraph of
the second chapter of his "Dawn of History" that
"Between the earlier and later stone age, between
man of the drift period and man of the neolithic era
occurs a vast blank which we can not fill in. We
bid adieu to the primitive inhabitants of our earth
while they are still the contemporaries of the mam
moth and woolly rhinoceros, or of the cave lion and
the cave bear, and while the very surface of the earth
wears a different aspect from what it now wears.
With a changed condition of things, with a race of
animals which differed not essentially from those
known to us, and with a settled conformation of lands
and seas not again to be departed from, comes before
us the second race of man man of the polished
stone age." It is true that it is claimed by some
European authors that this hiatus is not so real as it
at first appears to be, and that it has been partially
bridged over by some recent finds. But the effort to
bridge the chasm shows too clearly to be misunder
stood that it is there, and so long as it remains un
closed is a weak point, if not fatal flaw, in the theory.
We accept as correct the idea advanced by Mr. A.
H. Keane in his "Ethnology," that appeal to tradi
tional movements and other traditional data will have
no bearing upon the question of the origin of the
people of America unless paleolithic man in America
is abandoned. So believing, though we do not pro
pose to discuss this question of the original peopling
Preliminary Observations. 7
of the continent, we put aside glacial or paleolithic
man of America as yet wanting in the credentials
which entitle him to a place in scientific circles.
The history of the western continent is supposed to
begin with its discovery by Columbus at the close of
the fifteenth century, all that antedate that event
being considered prehistoric. While this is true in
the broad and general sense in which it is used, yet,
strictly speaking, the history of the different sections
begins with the first knowledge of them obtained by
Europeans. Hence the border line between the his
toric and prehistoric eras varies in date according to
the section referred to. The Ohio valley, for example,
was terra incognita to the civilized world for a century
after Cortez entered the capital of Anahuac. That
which lies back of this border line belongs to the pre
historic era, and the student who would penetrate the
mystery of that past must examine and carefully
study the monuments ; listen to the traditions which
have floated down the ages ; gather the folk-lore tales ;
and compare the customs, arts, and beliefs of the
tribes as first seen and learned. He must study the
native form and lineaments, and trace by linguistic
evidence the relationship of tribes and groups ; for in
America there is no scaffolding of history to assist
him as in the Old World. The transition from the
prehistoric to the historic w^as, from the very nature
of the case, sudden, there being no true proto-historic
period.
Study of North American Archaeology.
CHAPTER II.
MATERIALS FOR STUDY CLASSIFICATION.
When Columbus sailed among the Antilles, Cortez
landed on the coast of Mexico, when Jacques Carder
sailed up the St. Lawrence and De Soto traversed the
Gulf States, each and all found the regions they
visited inhabited by people of a race different from
any known to the eastern continent. The discoveries
which followed brought to light the fact that the lake
region and the Mississippi valley were inhabited by
people of the same race. Whence they came, and
how long they had inhabited these regions in other
words what was their history could not be ascer
tained, as they possessed no historical records save a
few symbolic rolls and inscriptions which are as yet
sealed books to scientists. The dim and shadowy
traditions which they related to the European dis
coverers were so confused and, in most cases, so
fabulous as to throw but little light on these ques
tions. And what was found to be true of the regions
o
mentioned was found to be true in a general sense of
the entire continent. The most important variation
discovered was the evidence of more advanced culture
in certain areas, as Mexico, Central America, and
Peru. The people, however, though split into numer
ous stocks and tribes, and differing in minor respects,
belonged apparently to the same race, its members
being popularly known as "Indians" or "American
Indians."
Materials for Study Classification. 9
In these facts we have one fundamental point with
which no correct conclusion in regard to the pre
historic times of the continent can be at variance.
The natives were here and must be recognized by
every theory, must be a factor in every general con
clusion.
The chief fundamental factor in the study of ar
chaeology is found in the monuments. "The teach
ings of material relics," truly remarks one author,
"so far as they go, are irrefutable. Real in them
selves, they impart an air of reality to the study of
the past." These are indisputable products of human
activity, and have imprinted upon them, as it were,
the ideas and conceptions of a bygone age. They are
records in which we may read not only the culture-
status of that past age, but also much in regard to
the customs and beliefs of the people. For these
reasons attention is directed to them as the chief
foundation stones on which our archaeological struc
ture must be built.
Although the monuments furnish the chief and
most reliable data to the archaeologist, and throw
more light on the customs, arts and beliefs of the
people, and reveal more in regard to the life of the
individual and family than any other aids, they are
not the only helps he finds in his endeavor to pene
trate the unwritten past. Language, which is also
reliable, enables him to determine the affinity of
tribes and peoples. By this means he can often say
with positive certainty that widely separated tribes
or groups have, in the past, sundered relations with
the great body of their kindred and sought distant
homes. He has ascertained by this means that the
10 Study of North American Archaeology.
Apaches and Navajos of New Mexico, Arizona, and
Northern Mexico are offshoots from the great Athapas
can family of Northern British America, and that the
Arapahos and Blackfeet Indians of the western plains
arc members of the Algonquian stock which spread
over North America from the Atlantic coast to the
Rocky Mountains. Thus he is enabled to trace with
more or less accuracy the lines of prehistoric migra
tion, and outline the general trend in ancient move
ments of population.
Traditions, although less reliable than the monu
ments and language, furnish some data to the archae
ologist which frequently serve to explain otherwise
uncertain evidence, and lead to satisfactory conclu
sions. Folk-lore, mythology and customs sometimes
indicate former contact or relationship not otherwise
revealed, and explain many otherwise puzzling monu
ments and relics. Craniology is strongly appealed to
by European ethnologists as an important factor in
this study, but the results so far obtained, except in
cases of artificial pressure, are too unsatisfactory to
justify its use except in broad generalizations, and
then only as cumulative evidence. This, the writer
is well aware, is in conflict with the views of a num
ber of leading ethnologists ; nevertheless he feels jus
tified in making this statement deliberately to the
younger students of American archaeology.
The wide differences in many respects between the
monumental remains of the Old World and those of
the New, and also between the data relating thereto,
call for a widely different method of study. Even
the classification and nomenclature of the former are
not adapted to the latter. The arrangement into four
Materials for Study Classification. 11
classes or ages the Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze and
Iron is conceded to be inapplicable to America.
Evidence of the two stone ages may possibly be found,
though still denied by a number of our leading
archaeologists, and a copper age may be substituted
for the bronze, but the similarity will extend no
further. The use of iron as a metal was unknown in
America previous to the discovery by Columbus.
Copper was used to a limited extent, but it is ex
tremely doubtful whether the method of manufactur
ing bronze had been discovered at any point on the
continent. Stone was the chief reliance until the in
troduction of European implements. The archae-
ologic remains of the former, taken as a whole, are
so widely different from those of America, that the
nomenclature of the one, except as applied to some
of the ruder objects, is totally inapplicable to those
of the other. It has therefore been found necessary,
in studying the archaeology of America, to proceed
upon an independent line and to adopt an original
basis and a new nomenclature.
Although this limits the range of any classificatory
system which may be attempted, it falls far short of do
ing away with the difficulties the American archaeolo
gist is compelled to encounter. Not only is he con
fronted by the fact, as apparent in the Old World as
in the New, that archaeology, even where it has been
longest studied, has not reached that stage where it
may be termed a true science, the general principles
of which by modification may apply to any sec
tion or country, but also by a multiplicity of objects
so variant in form and character, and usually in such
a fragmentary condition as, without a knowledge of
12 Study of North American Archaeology.
their uses, to baffle his attempts at a systematic classi
fication. Nadaillac, alluding to the various forms of
American antiquities, remarks that "these facts will
show how very difficult, not to say impossible, is any
classification," a statement which any one who at
tempts a systematic arrangement will be disposed to
accept as true. When dealing with a limited area
where the types are somewhat similar, classification
to some extent is possible and advantageous, but the
attempt to apply it to the entire continent will prove
abortive. However, as some grouping is necessary in
order to facilitate reference and comparison, in the
absence of a scientific arrangement we must have re
course to an arbitrary scheme. As the author has as
yet seen no better arrangement of primary groups
than that suggested in his "Report on the Mound
Explorations of the Bureau of American Ethnology,"
published in the 12th Annual Report of the Bureau,
it is adopted here.
By this the objects are divided, in a broad and com
prehensive sense, into three classes.
1. Monuments (in the limited sense), or local antiqui
ties. This division or class includes all those antiqui
ties that are fixed or stationary, which necessarily
pertain to a particular locality or place.
2. Relics and Remains, or movable antiquities. Those
not fixed and which have no necessary connection
with a particular locality.
3. Paleographic Objects. Inscriptions, picture writ
ings, etc., whether on fixed or transportable objects.
Tliis is, of course, an arbitrary arrangement, the
third group being unnecessary except as a matter of
convenience ; however it appears to be a practical
Materials for Study Classification. 13
working system by which the lines of distinction are
somewhat rigidly drawn. Moreover it is adapted to
the two methods of investigation and study, viz., in
the field and in the museum, and is in line with
Dr. Moriz Hoernes suggestion that, in studying
archaeological objects, attention should be given to
the "Typographic and Museographic order."
The first class does not appear to be susceptible of
arrangement into satisfactory primary divisions. The
only plan which as yet seems possible is to arrange
them by types, chiefly according to form, where the
object and use are not apparent, or known.
The objects of the second class may be grouped into
two divisions : 1. Remains, including human and
animal remains ; 2. Relics, including all other mova
ble antiquities. The further division of the second
group is largely typological, reference being made to
use so far as this is evident.
. Partly because of the difficulties in the way of a
satisfactory and useful classification, and partly be
cause the chief object of archaeologic investigations
is to learn what is possible in regard to the life, char
acter, activities and racial affinity of the former in
habitants of given sections, it has been found most
advantageous to study the monuments according to
the culture areas, so far as these can be determined
approximately from the data which have been ob
tained.
As it is practically impossible to make any satisfac
tory classification of the antiquities of the whole con
tinent, further than into the primary classes men
tioned above, the order followed herein will, as above
intimated, be geographical rather than typological.
14 Study of North American Archaeology,
The divisions will be made to correspond, so far as
the data enable us to judge, to the culture areas. But
the attempt to mark the culture areas, except as to
the three primary divisions mentioned below, can only
be partially carried out, hence the subdivisions must
be considered as chiefly geographical and intended
more as a matter of convenience and comparison than
as archaeological. Nevertheless that there are several
o
culture areas, both in the Atlantic and Pacific divis
ions, which will be ultimately determined and out
lined, is undoubtedly true. It is also true that, even
with the data which have been obtained, some of these
areas are quite clearly indicated, though they can not
be mapped with boundary lines.
The tendency of the present day is to base the
efforts to arrange the native population into ethnic
groups on the linguistic evidence alone, leaving out
of view the important aid in tracing the development
of these groups to be derived from a careful study of
the archaeological data, or referring to them only
when they can be used to confirm the theories based
on the linguistic evidence. This arises in part from
the fact that, while the archaeological data relating to
a large portion of the continent are few, and that
archaeology can not, as yet, be considered a true
science ; on the other hand the linguistic material,
although not complete, is much more abundant, and
the treatment thereof reduced to true scientific meth
ods. As the latter field affords greater promise of
reaching positive conclusions, it is more attractive to
methodical students.
As the discussion of this subject from the linguistic
standpoint is necessarily based upon the study of the
Materials for Study Classification. 15
various linguistic stocks and families of the entire
continent, and, to some extent, upon the migrations
therein, so the discussion of the same questions from
the archaeological standpoint must be based upon the
study of the various types and their distribution over
the continent. And the same necessity for grouping
in some manner arises here as in the linguistic field.
Although the materials with which the antiquarian
has to deal are not so well defined and distinctly
classed as those with which the philologist is con
cerned, yet careful study and comparison will enable
him to note the differences, geographical and to some
extent ethnical. The indications of comprehensive
archaeological sections as marked by differences in
type are too apparent to be denied, and there are also
indications of minor districts. The chief drawback
in attempting to use these as evidences of ethnic dis
tinctions arises from several causes uncertainty as to
what types are wholly due to physical conditions and
what are tribal or ethnic ; also from a lack of material
for comparison ; the overlapping and intermingling of
types in consequence of the shifting of position by
tribes ; and lastly the fact that types of art are not
governed strictly by ethnic lines. Nevertheless race
characteristics and tribal customs impress themselves
to a certain extent under all variations in location and
condition, upon the works and art of people in a sav
age or semi-civilized state. For instance, although
the Mexicans and Mayas lived side by side, and used
the same calendar system and the same method of
enumeration, yet we notice marked differences be
tween their symbolic writings and their types of art.
We also notice in the mound section the wide differ-
16 Study of A orth American Archaeology.
ence between the mound types of Wisconsin and the
other portions of the Mississippi valley. However, it
is difficult with the data so far obtained to fix cor
rectly the boundaries of the different culture districts.
Although we meet with this difficulty in defining
geographically the boundaries of the districts and
more comprehensive sections, it does not prevent us
from drawing correct conclusions from their general
positions and peculiar types. That all the distin
guishing types of a district or section can not be at
tributed to the peculiar physical features of such dis
tricts or sections must be admitted. Will any one
claim that the vast difference between the archaeologic
types of Mexico and Wisconsin have resulted vrholly
from the physical differences of the two areas? If
not, it follows, though physical environment is a po
tent influence in the formation of types, that so much
as has not resulted from physical peculiarities must
be attributed to racial or tribal customs. Yet the
powerful influence of physical conditions must not be
overlooked.
A careful examination of what has been ascertained
in regard to North American archaeology, with special
reference to the question of archaeologic sections,
leads in the first place to the conclusion that the
ancient remains belong in a broad and comprehensive
sense to two general classes. One of these classes is
limited geographically to the Atlantic slope, the other
chiefly to the Pacific slope, the eastern or Rocky
mountain range of the great continental mountain
belt to the Rio Grande forming approximately the
dividing line between the two areas. According to
this division, the Atlantic section includes that part
Materials for Study Classification. 17
of the continent east of the Rocky Mountains and
north of the Gulf of Mexico except the Dene or north
ern Athapascan region, and the Pacific section the re
mainder from Alaska to the Isthmus of Panama, in
cluding the Athapascan territory. The arctic region,
or Eskimo area, which is not taken into consideration
here, forming a separate division.
While there are manifest and marked differences in
the types and characters of the ancient works and re
mains of different areas within each of these two
comprehensive sections, yet when those of the Pacific
slope, as a whole, are compared with those of the
Atlantic slope, there is a dissimilarity which marks
them as the products of different ethnic groups, or as
the result of different influences.
If this division into two great archaeologic sections
is based on sufficiently reliable data to justify its
adoption, it will form a very important landmark in
the discussion of the chief problems of the prehistoric
times of our continent. Reference to some only of
the evidences bearing on this point is made here to
show their character, as it would not be possible to
present them in detail in a short chapter.
One of the first impressions made upon the mind of
the student of North American ethnology is the re
semblance in a broad and general sense of the features,
customs, arts, and archaeological remains of the west
coast to those of the islands in and countries border
ing on the Pacific ocean, while on the other hand
there is no such resemblance between them and those
of the Atlantic slope. In other words, the types
when classified in the broadest sense appear to ar-
2
18 Study of North American Archaeology.
range themselves in two general divisions those be
longing to the Pacific slope and those confined to the
Atlantic slope. Although this classification was not
made in express words until it was done by the author
of this work (see Eeport on Mound Explorations, in
the 12th Annual Report of the Bureau of American Eth
nology, 1894), yet there is a very evident tendency in
the works relating to the west coast ethnology toward
such a classification, and a disposition to separate and
mark out what may be termed the Pacific types. "If
nations of the eastern shores of the Atlantic," says
Prof. Dall, "were responsible [for the introduction of
the above mentioned types] , we should expect the At
lantic shores of America to show the results of the in
fluence most clearly. This is not the case, but the
very reverse of the case."
As indicative of this difference a few of the types
may be noticed, as follows : The singular form of
carving, representing a figure with the tongue hang
ing out, and usually communicating with a frog,
otter, bird, snake, or fish, observed on the north-west
coast from Oregon to Prince William sound and also
in Mexico and Nicaragua. We may add that this
feature is found in numerous instances in statues and
bas-reliefs from Mexico to the Isthmus, also in the
codices of Mexico and Central America, but seldom if
ever appears in the antiquities of the Atlantic division.
The prominent Tlaloc nose of Mexican and Central
American figures, of which the supposed elephant
proboscis is but one form and the bird bill (thun
der bird) of the north-west coast another, both of
which are but different methods of representing the
same idea, is a characteristic of the Pacific side.
Materials for Study Classification. 19
The method of superimposing, in totem posts and
statues, one figure upon another, usually combining
human and animal, is found, except in California,
from Alaska to the isthmus, and is a true Pacific
type, being almost unknown in the Atlantic division.
The angular designs on the pottery and basketry
are another marked feature of the west coast division.
And thus we might, if this were the proper place to
enter into details, go on enumerating marked distinc
tions between these two primary ethnological sections.
As evidence of the fact stated, let any one compare
the figures in Ensign Albert P. Niblack s excellent
work on "The Coast Indians of Southern Alaska and
Northern British Columbia," with the Mexican and
Central American monuments and figures, and then
compare them with the types of the Atlantic slope.
While the first comparison shows such a marked re
semblance as to lead to the inference that they were
derived from some common source, or the result of
some common influence, the second comparison shows
no such similarity. The spread of types of custom
and art were governed in part by several influences,
as ethnic lines, migrations, contact and physical con
ditions. Where we find those of a character which do
not depend upon physical conditions, but upon super
stitious notions, following a given line without spread
ing out indefinitely, we may assume, until satisfactory
evidence of another cause is given, that they mark a
line of migration and are largely ethnic. It is in
this light w^e are inclined to view the coast-line ex
tension of the types peculiar to the Pacific slope.
Dr. Brinton ("American Race"), notwithstanding
his view in regard to the origin and homogeneity of
20 Study of North American Archaeology.
the American race, arranges his linguistic groups
geographically by the same dividing lines as those we
here indicate as separating the primary archaeological
divisions. His "North Atlantic Group," omitting the
Eskimos, corresponds with our Atlantic division, and
his "North Pacific" and "Central" groups combined
with our Pacific division. This arrangement, as he
admits, is not one of convenience only, as he attaches
certain ethnographic importance to it. "There is,"
he continues, "a distinct resemblance between the two
Atlantic groups, and an equally distinct contrast be
tween them and the Pacific groups, extending to tem
perament, culture and physical traits. Each of the
groups has mingled extensively within its own limits
and but slightly outside of them." Elsewhere he
remarks that "a few of the eastern stocks, the Atha
pascan and the Shoshonian, have sent out colonies
who have settled on the banks of the Pacific ; but as
a rule the tribes of the western coast are not connected
with any east of the mountains. What is more singu
lar, though they differ surprisingly among themselves
in language, they have marked anthropological sim
ilarities, physical and psychical. Virchow has em
phasized the fact that the skulls from the northern
point of Vancouver Island reveal an unmistakable
analogy to those of southern California. . . . There
are many other physical similarities which mark the
Pacific Indians and contrast them with those east of
the mountains." In his "Races and Peoples" this
division between the eastern and western slopes is ex
pressed still more pointedly : "All the higher civiliza
tions are contained in the Pacific group, the Mexican
really belonging to it by derivation and original loca-
Materials for Study Classification. 21
tion. Between the members of the Pacific and At
lantic groups there was very little communication at
any period, the high sierras walling them apart."
As the arctic section, especially those portions oc
cupied by the Eskimo stock, present marked pecu
liarities, .the whole of North America may be con
sidered in three divisions which may, for convenience,
be termed :
I. The Arctic Division.
II. The Atlantic Division.
III. The Pacific Division.
22 Study of North American Archaeology.
CHAPTER III.
METHODS OF STUDY.
Although the method of studying American archae
ology has been touched upon to some extent in the
preceding chapters, it may be well to add something
more on this subject before entering upon a discussion
of the antiquities of the divisions outlined above.
Most of the writers dealing generally with this sub
ject begin their works with the primitive, or supposed
primitive inhabitants paleolithic men, men of the
mastodon age, cave men, etc. It is probably the cor
rect and scientific method in an extended treatise on
American archaeology to begin with the earliest traces
of man on the continent, thence following him down
the ages, marking his advance in culture, but it is
very questionable whether this is the best method of
studying North American archaeology. It is the be
lief of the author of this work that the most satis
factory plan is to begin with the known and work
back toward the unknown ; to begin with the aborig
ines and monuments and trace them back step by step
into the past.
The evidence so far ascertained leads to the con
clusion that, as a general rule, the monuments of the
various sections are attributable as a whole, or in part,
to the ancestors of the people found inhabiting those
sections at the incoming of the whites. This has been
found true in regard to Mexico and Central America,
Methods of Study. 23
and is now generally accepted as true in regard to the
regions of the Mound-builders and Cliff-dwellers. It
is therefore advisable to proceed upon this supposition
in regard to other sections until evidence incompatible
with this conclusion has been brought to light. Pre
historic migrations, of which frequent mention will
be made herein, have undoubtedly taken place, > for,
without this, population could not have spread over
the continent, but this was a slow process which re
quired ages for its accomplishment. Moreover, as
numbers increased and cultivation of the soil began,
the tribes necessarily became more and more sedentary
in habits. This had progressed to that extent when
Europeans made their appearance that most of the
groups had long been permanent residents of the sec
tions they were found inhabiting ; in fact, as will here
after be seen, there are good reasons for believing
that most of the larger stocks had developed into
tribes substantially in the respective regions they were
found occupying. As this development must have
required a long time, the presumption is justified, ex
cept where shown by the evidence furnished by the
monuments or language to be incorrect, that these
remains are attributable in a general sense to the an
cestors of the inhabitants of the respective sections.
That there was still more or less shifting of tribes and
to some extent of stocks through the fortunes of war
and here and there the breaking away of one or more
tribes from the parent hive, is no doubt true, but that
there was a greater degree of permanency than has
generally been supposed, is also true, a fact which is
becoming more and more evident through the investi
gations of late years. Therefore the natives as well
24 Study of North American Archaeology.
as the monuments must be studied, and the language,
physical traits, customs, traditions, mythology and
folk-lore of the natives are important factors which
the student must bring to his aid.
Another fact which should be borne in mind by the
student is the danger of basing conclusions on ab
normal objects, or on one or two unusual types. Take
for example the supposed elephant mound of Wiscon
sin which has played such an important role in most
of the works relating to the mound-builders of the
Mississippi valley, but is now generally conceded to
be the effigy of a bear, the snout, the elephantine
feature, resulting from drifting sand. Stones bearing
inscriptions in Hebrew or other Old World characters
have at last been banished from the list of prehistoric
relics. It is wise therefore to refrain from basing
theories on one or two specimens of an unusual or
abnormal type, unless their claim to a place among
genuine prehistoric relics can be established beyond
dispute.
It is unfortunate that many of the important arti
cles found in the best museums of our country are
without a history that will justify their acceptance,
without doubt, as genuine antiquities. It is safe
therefore to base important conclusions only on monu
ments in reference to which there is no doubt, and on
articles whose history, as regards the finding, is fully
known, except where the type is well established from
genuine antiquities. One of the best recent works on
ancient America is marred to some extent by want of
this precaution. Mounds and ancient works are de
scribed and figured which do not and never did exist ;
Methods of Study. 25
and articles are represented which are modern pro
ductions.
The method of study to be pursued depends very
largely upon the extent to which it is to be carried
and the lines to be followed. For the general reader
and the individual who desires to obtain only a gen
eral knowledge of the subject, and for the student
who studies the subject merely as a collateral branch,
the writer trusts that this work will suffice. But for
him who wishes to enter more into details, it can only
be what it purports to be, an introduction to the study.
For the latter class, a general knowledge of what has
been accomplished is necessary in order to avoid wast
ing time and energy in going over beaten paths.
The student devoting attention to local archaeology,
that is, to the monuments and remains of a particular
district, will, of course, acquaint himself first with the
investigations which have been previously made in
that district. However, this does not end with merely
ascertaining what monuments have been discovered
and located, which of them have been explored and
what relics and remains have been obtained, but in
cludes a careful study of the types and their relation
to the types of the immediately surrounding regions,
as archaeology, as a science, if it can be so called, is
based largely on analogy. In this way he determines
what are the prevailing types of the district and what
are peculiar to it if there be any ; but this investiga
tion in reference to a limited district or to particular
classes of antiquities must descend to more minute
details than will be necessary in making a general
survey of the antiquities of a more extended area.
It may, perhaps, be truly said that we are just en-
26 Study of North American Archaeology.
tering upon this stage of archaeologic progress, and
yet upon the result of such investigations must de
pend the answers to some of the important problems
relating to the prehistoric times of the various sections
of our continent. Among the most abundant and
generally distributed classes of prehistoric artefacts
are arrow- and spear-points ; and though the varieties
seemingly .baffle attempts at classification, it will
probably be possible to determine all the types of a
limited district and thus obtain one means of com
parison with the archaeology of surrounding areas.
Celts will afford another means of comparison, and
so on through the entire list both of monuments and
relics.
However, in order to study the monuments properly
and their bearing on the questions relating to the pre
historic times of the given locality, mapping is an im
portant step. A local worker should have a map of
his district with the localities of the antiquities marked
thereon with symbols indicating the types. Maps
and diagrams of the groups of works are of course
necessary to intelligent study. In other words, the
geographical relations of ancient works in a district
as well as the relations of the individual works to
each other in the groups are important. Although
the mounds in the groups of the mound area of the
United States appear to be usually placed without re
spect to order or plan, yet in the southern states they
are so arranged in many of the groups as to leave a
central, open space or plaza, w^hile in Wisconsin the
arrangement in lines is an archaeological character
istic of the region. The geographical distribution of
types forms the chief aid in outlining culture areas.
Methods of Study. 27
It is important in studying the types of the monu
ments and of the artefacts to determine the essential
features of each type. It is often true, especially in
the case of imitative objects, that the type is con
ventionalized to such an extent as to lose apparently
every feature of the object of which it was intended
to be a representative ; yet the careful student, by
tracing the variations and eliminations, will usually
be able to determine the essential features and reach
a correct conclusion. Without this study unessential
characteristics may be given an undue prominence.
There appears to have been a strong desire on the part
of the aboriginal artists to introduce the eye and
other face features into the Central American hiero
glyphics, yet in many of these they are non-essentials,
being simply ornamental ; and the same thing is true
in regard to many other antiquities. Nevertheless,
these unessential features as to the type are important
in comparisons, as they assist in ascertaining affinities
and derivation where the type is widely distributed.
The olla or globular bowl has been and is yet a com
mon type of pottery vessel among the Pueblo Indians
of New Mexico and Arizona, yet the Indians can, in
most cases, readily decide from what Pueblo a par
ticular vessel came by the ornamentation or other
features unessential to the type.
The student investigating the archaeology of a given
district should, as above indicated, make himself ac
quainted, so far as the data will permit, with the his
tory, customs, beliefs, traditions, etc., of the tribes
which have inhabited that district. Of course it does
not necessarily follow because it is known that the
ancestors of the people found inhabiting a certain ex-
28 Study of North American Archaeology.
tensive section, as Central America, Mexico, the
Pueblo region or the mound area, were the authors of
a large portion of the monuments of that section, that
the ancestors of the people found in more restricted
localities were the authors of the monuments of those
particular localities. There are unquestionably some
monuments in southern Arizona and northern Mex
ico which can not be attributed to the ancestors of the
tribes inhabiting or known to have inhabited the par
ticular localities where these ruins are found. The
same thing is true also of certain ancient works in
the mound section of the United States. Although
the works as a whole are attributable to the ancestors
of the Indians of the section, some tribes who w^ere
mound builders may have become extinct through
wars or epidemics, others may have been forced to
shift position, and still other tribes may never have
adopted the custom of building mounds, yet the propo
sition in its general application remains true. One
object, therefore, of the local worker should be to de
termine, if possible, what tribes or people were the
authors of the works of the district he is studying,
whether those known to have inhabited the district,
or others removed in prehistoric times. The first
step in this investigation is to learn the customs, arts,
etc., of the people who formerly inhabited that dis
trict, as he may thus be enabled to determine the
probability that they were the authors, or to eliminate
them from the investigation. The a priori presump
tion is that the local natives were the builders. Every
elimination of a factor from the discussion of a prob
lem is one step toward the true solution.
In the study of types the method must, of necessity,
Methods of Study. 29
be very largely geographical with reference to vari
eties, if the object in view be to ascertain the distri
bution of the different varieties. If the object be
simply to trace the development of the type, the geo
graphical distribution is of less importance. Mr. A.
E. Douglass, of New York, who has a large private
collection, suggests in regard to museum collections a
double arrangement for these purposes : First, an
arrangement of specimens according to geographical
distribution ; and second by varieties. As the study
of types necessitates the examination of specimens,
this plan, where practical, would undoubtedly be ad
vantageous. One difficulty in these lines, which has
not yet been overcome, is the want of a uniform and
acceptable nomenclature ; but nomenclature seems
impossible without classification, which has not been
accomplished except in regard to limited districts.
This is a desideratum to which the attention of cura
tors of museums is now being directed, and it is to
be hoped, notwithstanding the difficulties in the way,
that they will find some means of classifying collec
tions sufficiently to form a basis for names of types.
In studying the monuments it will be found, as yet,
advantageous to limit attempts at grouping or classi-
ficatory arrangements to districts or sections. Com
parison can then be made with the works of other
sections or districts, group with group, or class with
class. By this type generalization or aggregation the
contrasts or similarities are not only more apparent
than by single comparisons, but are of much more im
portance. By such comparison of the works of the
mound-builders with those of the Pueblo region or
Central America, the contrast is, so to speak, intensi-
30 Study of North American Archaeology.
fied. Within the section or district some grouping,
even though it be arbitrary, is absolutely necessary to
progress, and without it discussion is impossible and
general description of little value. In other words,
the student can make but little progress in archaeology
until he advances to what may be termed the generic
stage. Mr. Holmes has adopted a most excellent
method, both in his studies of the monuments and of
the minor vestiges of art. He learns by a comparison
of specimens or of individual monuments the essen
tial characteristics of the different types under inves
tigation ; then by means of outline figures or sketches
brings the types pertaining to the same general class
in their simplest form into comparison. See, for ex
ample, his comparison of types of pottery vessels of a
certain class shown in our Fig. 37, and his comparison
of temple plans in our Fig. 96. Although the idea is
not new, his application of it to the antiquities of
North America which he has examined is clear, and
serves to illustrate a plan which may well be fol
lowed.
Study may be in the field, in the museum or in the
books. In the first case there are numerous practical
questions which can be answered only by experience ;
the student must therefore learn by practice or by ref
erence to the experienced field worker. The Bureau of
American Ethnology receives many letters inquiring
as to the best method of exploring (opening) and in
vestigating mounds, etc. Although the general direc
tion, to note every thing so carefully as the exploration
proceeds that a complete restoration in every particu
lar could be made from these notes, would perhaps
Methods of Study. 31
answer the inquiry, the following suggestions are
added for the benefit of the young beginner :
If the mound to be explored be one of a group, the
first step is to make a full and complete description of
the group, with diagram as heretofore suggested,
noting carefully the topography of the area covered
by the group, and of the immediately surrounding
country. The plan should show the correct positions
of the mounds, and their form and size (diameter and
height) should be noted. In addition to the measure
ment of the mound to be explored, a horizontal sec
tion showing an outline of the base as seen from the
summit, and a vertical section showing the contour of
the longest diameter, should be drawn on paper, and
of sufficient size to note spaces thereon, of a foot
measured on the ground. The north and south points
should be indicated on the horizontal section. These
plans are for the purpose of inserting marks indicat
ing the positions, horizontally and vertically, of the
articles found as the exploration proceeds. These,
with the notes naming the articles by corresponding
numbers and giving the measurement as to depth and
side, will be sufficient to locate the article in the
mound, should its exact position ever become a ques
tion of any importance. Such a question occasionally
becomes important when the article is found to indi
cate contact with Europeans, or is abnormal.
In order to note the stratification it is best to dig a
trench from side to side through the highest point, or
center, and where the mound is of considerable size it
will be well to run another at right angles to this.
These should commence and end at the extreme outer
margins of the mound and be carried down to the
32 Study of North American Archaeology.
natural soil or subsoil as the case may be. When a
skeleton or relic is found it should not be removed
until it is well exposed and its character and position
noted down. If a vault, tomb, wall or any thing of
large size is encountered, the trench should be carried
around this until it is fully exposed before being dis
turbed. When the trenches are completed, the re
maining portions of the mound can be removed, the
same care being taken. Where the mound is of large
size, sinking shafts and tunneling may have to be re
sorted to. Care must be taken to mark all articles
found, with numbers corresponding with those in the
notes and on the sections. Of course the character
and thickness of the strata and every other particular
deemed worthy of remembrance should be noted
down. Photography will of course be advantageous
where clear and distinct pictures can be obtained, but
will not supply the place of sketches. As it would re
quire too much space to notice all the variations from
these suggestions and add additional ones necessary to
meet the numerous peculiarities the explorer may en
counter, we can only repeat what is stated above :
Note every particular with such care that it will be
possible from the description to completely restore the
mound in every particular.
As the author is familiar by personal investigation
with the antiquities of the mound region alone, his
suggestions in regard to those of other sections must
be drawn from the works of other explorers. Profit
able suggestions in reference to the method of study
ing the ruins of Central America and Mexico may be
drawn from Mr. Holmes account of the celebrated
Palenque group given in his "Archaeological Studies
Methods of Study. 33
among the Ancient Cities of Mexico." He starts out
by giving a sketch map of the locality. Then follow
in order a "Panoramic View" of the group; the
"Orientation and Assemblage," which results in show
ing that the placement of the buildings would seem
to be due to the natural features of the ground rather
than to a regard for the points of the compass ; "Ma
terials and Masonry"; "Construction"; "Substruc
tures," or pyramidal basements; "Superstructures,"
or buildings ; under the latter he outlines the ground
plans of the types, following with the profiles of con
struction or elevation accompanied by outlines of ver
tical sections, illustrating the mode of construction.
This is followed with descriptions of the roofing, of
the types of doorways, of pillars, stairways and other
essential features of the buildings, the ornamentation
being considered last.
In his description of Monte Alban and Mitla, in
addition to the description of the ruins and mode of
construction, he goes back to the quarry in order to
study the method of preparing the material from the
initial stroke until the blocks of stone are ready for
removal to the building site, and to learn what man
ner of tools were employed and how used. This
might be followed up from the work of others, as
that of explorers of the Bureau of American Eth
nology and of the Hemenway Expedition among the
ruins of New Mexico and Arizona, but what has been
mentioned will suffice to indicate the method these
field workers have followed. 3t is something of an
art to grasp readily the chief idea or plan of a group
of ruins. When this is caught, the lines and parts
3
34 Study of North American Archaeology.
are usually easily traced, though hidden from view
until uncovered.
The study in the museum, that is of articles in col
lections, has been alluded to incidentally. The study
of the literature, where not in aid of the study of the
monuments and remains, is chiefly for the purpose of
investigating certain problems. In this case the scope
of inquiry is widened and the data furnished by the
monuments and remains constitute but one of the
factors ; language, physical traits, customs, traditions,
mythology and folk-lore must all be brought into the
investigation. This involves also an examination of
the early histories, the accounts of navigators and ex
plorers and of more recent discussions on the same
topics. The student must bear in mind the fact that
archaeology is based on particulars, on innumerable
fragments, and that conclusions and theories to be
correct, must, so to speak, be the figures formed when
the fragments are rightly placed. This brief and far
from complete outline of the method of study will,
with the present work, furnish some aid to the student
who wishes to devote attention to North American
archaeology, but the critical investigator is expected
to open up new lines and bring to bear new argu
ments on the questions which arise.
Arctic Division. 35
CHAPTER IV.
ARCTIC DIVISION.
As the archaeological data of this division are few,
and their direct connection with the Eskimo and
allied tribes is not questioned, the division is purely
an ethnological one. However as the people at their
entrance into the domain of history were in the stone
age, the implements, utensils and other artefacts in
use among them afford a means of comparison which
can not wisely be overlooked even in this brief sur
vey. Moreover this area furnishes the best field on
the continent for the study of the culture of a primi
tive people as indicated by their arts. Stone and
bone implements found in the graves, mounds and
refuse heaps of other sections are often serious puzzles
to the archaeologist, because their use was discon
tinued before the historical era and is not easily de
termined. But in the Eskimo area few have been dis
covered of which the use is unknown, almost every
form having been continued in use until visited by
European navigators. The knowledge thus obtained
furnishes a key by which many an archaeological
riddle may be solved.
Monuments or Local Antiquities. These consist al
most wholly of shell or refuse heaps, the remains of
old iglus or Eskimo houses which were constructed
in part of stone, and an occasional pile of stones
heaped over a grave to protect it from wild beasts.
36 Study of North American Archaeology.
No true mounds, inclosures or fortifications of a per
manent character, have been discovered in the entire
area. This statement will also probably apply to a
considerable extent of country lying south of the
northern Eskimo belt, as we are informed by Rev. A.
G. Morice, who has resided for many years among
the north-western Athapascans (or Dene) , that
"throughout the whole extent of their territory, no
mounds, inclosures, fortifications of a permanent
character, or any earthen-works suggesting human
agency are to be found."
Numerous shell-heaps have been discovered in the
Aleutian Islands. Such of these as have been exca
vated are found to consist of two or three distinct
strata, indicating, it is supposed, successive periods of
occupancy. Prof. W. H. Dall describes the typical
form as consisting of the following layers : First, or
lowest stratum, composed almost exclusively of the
broken tests or spines of Echinus, a few shells of dif
ferent species of edible mollusks being intermixed ;
the next layer above, composed chiefly of fish bones
and shells, w^ith an occasional bird bone ; above this
was a layer characterized by numerous mammalian
bones, of marine species, intermixed with bones of
sea birds ; this was covered by modern deposits and
vegetable mold.
The following articles found in this refuse heap fur
nish some indications, Prof. Dall thinks, of the ad
vance in culture during the time it was being formed,
though this has been questioned. In the lower stratum
a small hammer stone was discovered which had an
indentation on each side for the finger and thumb,
and bruises on the ends, indicative of use, probably
Arctic Division.
37
for breaking Echinus tests. In the second were rude
net-sinkers, stone knives, and spear-heads both of
stone and bone, the latter distinctly barbed (Fig. 1) .
Fig. 1. Bone Spear-head, Eskimo.
These appeared in still greater abundance and varied
forms in the mammalian stratum, from which were
also obtained stone, bone, and horn skin-dressers, bone
awls, stone adzes and lamps ; also carved articles,
such as masks, and a single face-form carved on bone.
One of the lamps is shown in Fig. 2. Bone and stone
Fig. 2. Stone lamp, Eskimo.
labrets were found in the upper layer of one of these
shell-heaps and also in a cave deposit of corresponding
age. One of the labrets is shown in Fig. 3, Prof.
Dall, to whom we are indebted for the foregoing de
scription of Aleutian shell heaps, discovered also in
the same region the marks and remains of ancient
villages. The method of building among the ancient
38
Study of North American Archaeology.
Fig. 3. Labret, Eskimo.
inhabitants, who are presumed to have been Aleuts,
was to excavate slightly, build a wall of flat stones
or of the bones of
the larger whales,
and bank this on
the outside with
turf and stones.
The roof appears
to have been form-
ed usually of
whales ribs, cov
ered with wisps of
grass tied together
and laid on the rafters, then turfed over.
The remains of ancient stone houses are found scat
tered over the greater part of Arctic America, espe
cially the eastern portion, even in sections no longer
inhabited by Eskimo, as the Parry Archipelago and
the northern part of East Greenland. These are ap
propriated by the Eskimo of the present day for tem
porary dwellings when they stop in the region where
they are found. A figure of the remaining founda
tion of one of these ancient structures is given in
Fig. 4, from Kumlien. The purpose of the long
kayak-like building figured in connection with the
stone house is not known. Dr. Boas says he found a
similar one twenty feet long, scarcely one foot high,
consisting of two rows of stones, at Pangnirtung, Cum
berland Sound, but nobody could explain its use.
The remains of a number of these ancient stone
houses, or iglus, have been found in the American
Archipelago and about Cumberland Sound. Those in
good condition have a long stone entrance, sometimes
Arctic Division. 39
from fifteen to twenty feet long. This is made by
cutting an excavation- into the slope of a hill. Its
walls are covered with large slabs of stone, about two
Fig. 4. Remains of an ancient Eskimo house.
and a half feet high and three feet wide, the space
between the stone and the sides of the excavation
being afterward filled with the earth. The floor of
the passage slopes upward toward the hut. The last
four feet of the entrance are covered with a very large
slab, and are a little higher than the other parts of the
roof of the passageway. The slab is at the same
height as the benches of the dwelling room, which is
also dug out, the walls being formed of stones or
whale ribs. These houses are supposed to have been
covered in the same way as those already described.
Dr. Boas states that he has found at Ukiadliving,
among other remains, some very remarkable "store
houses." "These structures," he says, "consist of
heavy granite pillars, on the top of which flat slabs
of stone are piled to a height of nine or ten feet, in
40 Study of North American Archaeology.
winter, blubber and meat are put away upon these
pillars, which are sufficiently high to keep them from
the dogs; skin boats were also placed on them."
This was doubtless the object in view in building
these rude structures, but why the covering should be
so thick and heavy is not apparent if this were the
only object.
Implements, Ornaments, etc.
As all the monuments and minor vestiges of art of
this division are attributable, as already stated, to the
Eskimo, the earliest forms that are known differing
but slightly from those of modern times, it is only
necessary here to notice a few of the more important
types for the purpose of comparison.
As agriculture is impracticable in the rigorous cli
mate of the Eskimo region, and the means of sub
sistence limited to animal food, the variety of imple
ments is not large. They consist chiefly of such as
are used in killing and capturing the food animals
of which the larger portion are marine mammals ;
the implements and vessels used in preparing and
cooking food, and in preparing the skins for the va
rious uses to which they are applied. The simplicity
in the Eskimo manner of life, the necessary uni
formity in their method of procuring subsistence, and
the manner of clothing themselves, have convention
alized to a great extent their implements and arts.
As the struggle for existence has been a difficult one
with them, and the clothes and dwellings necessary
to protect them against the cold are ill adapted to the
use of ornaments, the variety of such articles is quite
limited.
Arctic Division, 41
The articles of stone and bone, which are the only
ones requiring notice here, consist chiefly of arrow,
spear and harpoon heads, skin scrapers, ulus or
women s knives, adzes, lamps, cooking pots or kettles,
flakers and labrets.
The chipped flint heads of arrows and spears are
usually well made, finely finished and symmetrically
formed, differing in size and slightly in form accord
ing to the particular purpose for which they were in
tended. Some of the older specimens are somewhat
ruder, but would undoubtedly be classed as neolithic.
One of the most useful and necessary implements
belonging to an Eskimo household was the Ulu or
Woman s knife, which, with them, performed all that
is done in enlightened communities with the various
cutting implements of the butcher-shop and the
household kitchen. The simplest form was a flake of
flint with a cutting edge, but with the Eskimo they
were usually made in a particular form, and, vrith the
handle, resembled the
ordinary kitchen chop-
ping-knife, which, in
fact, has to a large ex
tent replaced the stone
implement. The blade
was of horn stone,
chert, or flint material
and slate, especially --~___^--
the latter. (Fig. 5.) Fig>5- ui n?0 r woman s knife, Eskimo.
Another indispensable
household article was the lamp, which furnished both
heat and light. These were usually of soapstone,
though a few of other stone have been discovered. The
42
Study of North American Archaeology.
form of this vessel was not so strictly conventionalized
as that of the kettle or cooking pot, though generally
dish-shaped and shallow. (Fig. 2.) A semicircular
form was also common, the length varying from six
inches to nearly three feet.
Before the introduction of European vessels the
cooking was usually done in soapstone pots or kettles
Fig. G. Soapstone pot, Eskimo.
by placing them over the lamps or putting heated
stones in the water. They were comparatively small,
varying in capacity from a pint to a gallon, rectangu
lar in outline with the sides perpendicular or slightly
flaring. (Fig. 6.)
Fig. 7. Hafted jade adze, Eskimo.
Arctic Division. 43
Even at the present day, according to Mr. Murdoch,
the Eskimo of Point Barrow use no tool for shaping
large pieces of woodwork except a short-handled adze,
hafted in the same manner as the old stone tools
which were employed before the introduction of iron.
(Fig. 7.) The skin scraper usually consisted of a
blunt stone blade mounted in a short thick haft of
wood or ivory, fitting ex
actly to the inside of the
hand and having holes
or depressions to receive
the fingers and thumb.
fFia* R \ Fig- 8- Skin scraper, Eskimo.
The art of making flint arrow and spear heads has
not been entirely lost by the Eskimo. Flint pebbles
are splintered by percussion into fragments of suitable
size, and the sharp-edged spalls are flaked into shape
with an implement consisting of a short straight rod
of flint or bone mounted in a short curved haft
grooved for its reception, (Fig. 9.)
CL
Fig. 9. Flint flaker, Eskimo.
Culture-home of the Eskimo.
The origin of the Eskimo or Innuit is a question
which has been much discussed, but as yet remains
undecided. The generally-accepted theory has been
that they migrated from north-eastern Asia by way of
Behring Strait. Recently, however, several writers,
among whom are two or three who have made a
44 Study of North American Archaeology.
special study of them, have reached the conclusion
that they were originally an inland people of North
America, and that their migrations were toward the
north and west. This conclusion is based to a con
siderable extent upon the evidence, now generally ac
cepted, that the Asiatic Eskimo (the Ymt) , dwelling
around East Cape and to the south of it, migrated in
late prehistoric times from America, and that the
Aleuts inhabiting the islands moved in the same di
rection.
As any opinion which may be advanced on this
question is at best but conjecture, the subject does not
come properly within the scope of the present work.
There is, however, a closely cognate problem which
offers greater probability of final solution, and which
is of importance in the study of the prehistoric times
of our continent. As well stated by Dr. Rink, who
has made this arctic people well nigh a life study, "In
regard to the cradle of the Eskimo race, we have
before all to discern between their original home and
the country in which they developed their present
culture, which is characterized by their capability of
procuring means of subsistence in arctic regions,
where no other nation can live." He then points out
some "necessary conditions for guessing the site" of
this culture-home.
Alluding to the vast shore line which was, so far as
known, occupied by the. Eskimo as its only inhabitants
before their modern contact with the European race,
he divides them into Eastern and Western, separated
by Cape Bathurst. He assumes as a basis, which is
admitted to be correct by those who differ from him,
first, that only one such culture-home can have existed,
Arctic Division. 45
and second, that even this one must have been of
relatively small extent. The extraordinary uniformity
of the utensils, instruments and weapons common to
all the widely-spread tribes or groups, and the com
paratively slight variation in language, is suggestive
of a common origin. He then shows from the vocabu
laries of the different sections the identity of the
names given by the Eastern and Western groups to
the animals used as food, boats, vessels, implements,
etc., giving a list which excludes the possibility of
accidental likeness. To this is added the similarity
in form and use of the vessels and implements re
ferred to.
The direction of the migration is assumed from the
following facts :
The gradual completion of the kayak with its im
plements, and the art of using them. The gradual
change of several customs in proceeding from the
south and west to the north and east, namely, the
use of labrets or lip ornaments ceasing at the Mac-
Kenzie River, the use of masks at festivals ceasing in
Baffin s Land, and the women s hair dressing gradu
ally changing between Point Barrow and Baffin s
Bay, and the change in the houses in certain par
ticulars.
These indicate that the movement was from the ex
treme west, or Alaska, toward the east, and this Dr.
Rink believes is the true solution of the problem.
On the other hand, Mr. Murdoch and Dr. Boas,
who have personally studied the race on opposite
sides of the continent, believe the culture-home was
in the interior about the south end of Hudson s Bay,
whence they separated into three principal divisions,
46 Study of North American Archaeology.
one going north-east, another north, and the other
north-west. This opinion is based chiefly on the
primitive art of the central region, the form of the
sinew bow, and the westward movement above re
ferred to. It would seem difficult, however, to ac
count upon this theory for the adoption of the kayak
and its accompaniments, and the application of the
same terms throughout the extended region where
they are found, often in widely separated groups,
between which intercourse is exceedingly rare. The
settlement of this question, which appears possible
with the accumulation of data, is important to the
study of ethnology. If the latter theory be correct,
it will have a material bearing on the theories in re
gard to the course of migration of the Indian popula
tion south and west of this assumed inland culture-
home, for it is not probable that any people who have
acquired their habits in an interior area, and com
paratively moderate climate, would leave it, except
under strong pressure, to take up their abode in such
inhospitable regions as they now occupy.
All the implements and works of the Eskimo appear
to be adapted to their peculiar conditions and their
only means of subsistence and preservation of life.
They are very largely those of a littoral and arctic
people, developed through the necessity of procuring,
to a large extent, subsistence from the sea and defend
ing themselves from the cold without material derived
from the forest. Many of the articles, it is true, are
adapted to savage life in any section, whether in the
interior or on the coast, whether in an arctic or
temperate climate, but on the other hand many others
are suited only to the conditions under which they
Arctic Division. 47
live. Hence it must be assumed, unless valid reasons
for a different conclusion are shown, that those pe
culiarly adapted to the situation were developed in
the area where they are found, or one similar in its
conditions.
Mr. Murdoch s suggestion that the use of labrets is
a habit which has worked its way along the western
coast of America from the south is worthy of con
sideration, though it does not appear to strengthen
his theory, but tends rather to support the opposite
conclusion. Nevertheless it is not without support,
and opens up a new line for thought and investiga
tion, and furnishes an additional pointer to a par
ticular region of the western coast which possibly
may have played an important part in the peopling of
the continent.
48 Study of North American Archaeology.
CHAPTER V.
ATLANTIC DIVISION.
This division includes geographically, as heretofore
indicated, all that part of North America east of the
Rocky Mountains north of the Rio Grande and Gulf
of Mexico, except that portion embraced in the Arctic
division and except also the area occupied by the
northern Athapascan or Dene tribes.
At the time Europeans began to plant colonies in
this region it was occupied by Indians belonging
chiefly to some four or five linguistic stocks. The
northern portion from Labrador to the Rocky Mount
ains, the central area east of the Mississippi from the
lakes south to Tennessee, and a strip along the At
lantic coast from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Pamlico
Sound, was occupied by the great Algonquian stock.
Gathered about lakes Erie and Ontario, both north and
south, stretching dow^n both sides of the St. Lawrence
to Quebec, and extending over New York and most of
Eastern Pennsylvania, was the Iroquoian family, be
longing to which were outlying groups along the
south-eastern border of Virginia, and about the head
waters of the Tennessee and Savannah rivers. The
Muskhogean family occupied most of the area embraced
in the southern states east of the Mississippi. Ex
tending westward from the Mississippi river from its
headwaters to the Arkansas across the broad plains
of the west, and occupying most of the drainage area
Atlantic Division. 49
of the Missouri and Arkansas rivers, was the Siouan
stock, the Bedouin of North America. Belonging to
this group were some scattered fragments, one along
the piedmont region of Virginia and the Carolinas,
and one of small size on the southern coast of Missis
sippi and another in Arkansas. Besides these there
were the Caddoan stock, chiefly in western Louisiana
and eastern Texas ; the Timuquanan occupying the
Florida peninsula, and some, few in numbers, covering
small areas chiefly about the mouth of the Mississippi.
The archaeological conditions we encounter in this
O
area are so widely distinct from those of the Arctic
division as to require but little thought or study to
mark the differences. It is true we find here flint
arrow- and lance-heads in abundance, some of them
bearing a close resemblance to and scarcely distin
guishable from those of the Eskimo. Chipped stones
of a certain form, which are supposed to be skin-
scrapers or skinning implements, are also found in
great numbers, and though many of them may be
compared with the flint points of the Eskimo scrapers,
yet the manner in which they were hafted, or whether
hafted at all, is in most instances only a surmise. It
is noticeable that of the fifty-six American scrapers
figured in Prof. 0. T. Mason s "Aboriginal Skin
Dressing" (Kept. Nat. Museum, 1888-9), all except
five are Eskimo, and the five are adze shaped and
have iron or steel points. The elbow-shaped handle
may be a survival from the stone age, nevertheless it
is possible that the advent of iron may have worked
some change in form. Local monuments, as we have
seen, except, refuse heaps, foundations of old iglus
50 Study of North American Archaeology.
and some ancient graves, are unknown to the arctic
section. On the contrary, in the area we are now en
tering upon, the Mississippi valley, from the head
waters in Minnesota to the Red River of Louisiana,
and from the sources of the Ohio to the border of
the western plains, is dotted over with earthen mounds,
clustered into groups or scattered singly ; here and
there hills and bluffs are crowned with defensive
works, indicating tribal warfare ; throughout southern
Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee the rude stone sep-
ulchers of the ancient inhabitants are found in great
numbers ; and other evidences of prehistoric occupancy
abound. Thus it will be seen that the difference
archaeologically between the two divisions is a wide
one.
Monuments, or local antiquities.
The antiquities of this class found in this division
consist chiefly of earthworks, stoneworks, graves, cave
deposits and mines and quarries, and might be classed
under these heads but for the fact that some belong
partly to one class and partly to another ; then there
are certain other local antiquities which can not pos
sibly be classed under either of these headings. If it
were possible to decide positively as to the use of each
type, this would afford one means of classification,
but unfortunately here our knowledge is sadly at
fault. However, as some arrangement for the con
venience of reference is necessary, they will be
grouped here by leading types under the following
heads : Mounds, Refuse Heaps, Inclosures, Hut-rings,
Excavations, Graves and Cemeteries, Garden Beds,
Hearths or Camp Sites, and Ancient Trails. Besides
Atlantic Division. 51
these there are Mines and Quarries, Cave Deposits
and Petroglyphs. That the particular sense in which
some of these terms are used in this work may be
clearly understood, the following explanation is given :
Mounds.
The tumuli or true mounds, to which the term will
be limited in this work, are the most common and
most numerous of the fixed antiquities, being found
in the valley of the Red River of the North from its
source to its mouth, and here and there an isolated
one in Canada ; throughout the Mississippi valley and
the region south of the great lakes to the gulf they
constitute the larger portion of the numerous groups,
it being exceedingly rare to find a group in which
they do not occur. Although the forms are various,
they may be classed as conical tumuli, elongate or
wall mounds, pyramidal mounds, and effigy mounds.
The conical tumuli are artificial hillocks cast up
with some special object in view, and not mere accu
mulations of debris. The form is usually that of a
low, broad, round-topped cone, but as at present
found is, in consequence of wear and tear by the
plow and the elements, often that of an irregular
heap, distinguished from the refuse heap only by in
ternal evidence. They vary in size from a scarcely
perceptible swell in the ground to elevations of eighty
or ninety feet, and from six or eight to three hundred
feet in diameter. The outline is generally approxi
mately circular where they retain their original shape,
though many are oblong or oval and some pear-
shaped. Most of the Burial Mounds are of this type.
The works to which the name "Elongate or Wall
52
Study of North American Archaeology.
AfaOem, Cemetery
CKI
*
MooND9 ON TAHM or B.G THOMAS,
EASTMAN TOWNSHIP. CRAWFORD Co
/VlSCONSiN
co
Fig. 10. Plat of mound group, Wisconsin.
Atlantic Division. 53
Mounds" is applied are certain linear earthen struc
tures which seem to be confined almost exclusively to
the effigy-mound region mentioned below. The only
external characteristic which distinguishes them from
the oblong mound of the conical type is their wai.-
like appearance ; in truth the longer ones may be
properly called walls, if we judge by the form alone.
This characteristic is apparent even w^hen the length
is not great as compared with the width. Usually the
length is from one hundred and fifty to three hundred
feet, though some are found as short as fifty while
others extend to nine hundred ; the width varies from
twenty to forty feet, and the height seldom exceeds
four feet. They appear to be simple lines of earth
cast up from the adjoining surface, but with what ob
ject in view is unknown ; however, they are seldom
used as burial-places, and even where so used it is ap
parently an after-thought. (Fig. 10.)
The typical form of the Pyramidal Mounds is the
truncated, quadrangular pyramid ; some, however,
are circular or oval and a few pentangular, but are
distinguished from the conical type chiefly by the flat
top or truncated form. In some instances, as in the
Marietta group, Ohio, they are so reduced in height,
compared with extent, as to assume the appearance of
earthen platforms ; others have terraces extending
outward from one or two sides, and others a ramp or
roadway leading up to the level surface. In conse
quence of wearing by the plow and elements the sharp
outlines have, in many instances, been obliterated to
such an extent as to render it difficult to determine
the original form. With the exception of a few in
Ohio, Indiana and northern Illinois, works of this
54
Study of North American Archaeology.
Atlantic Division. 55
type are limited almost exclusively to southern Illi
nois, south-eastern Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky,
Tennessee, South Carolina and the Gulf States. The
two most extensive groups in the division, consisting
chiefly of mounds of this form, are widely separated ;
one is located in Illinois a few miles east of St. Louis,
which includes the giant Cahokia mound, and the
other near Carthage, Alabama. The best examples
of terraced mounds are found in eastern Arkansas,
one of which is shown in the annexed figure.
(Fig. 11.)
There is a somewhat different form from either of
those mentioned which is intermediate between the
conical and pyramidal types, though classed here
with the latter, as a personal examination by the
writer of examples widely separated geographically,
has convinced him that they are slight modifications
of the pyramidal type with ramps. Examples of
both forms are seen together in the "Rich Woods"
o
group, south-eastern Missouri. In this class the
main tumulus is really conical or oval, usually with a
ramp extending outward on one side in the form of a
ridge ; or oval in form and the whole upper surface
slightly rounded and sloping toward one end.
The most singular earthen structures found on the
continent are those representing animals, and usually
known as "Effigy Mounds." They are limited geo
graphically, almost exclusively, to Wisconsin and the
immediately adjoining portions of Illinois and Iowa;
some two or three are found in Ohio and two in
Georgia ; it is reported that some examples have been
discovered in the "Bad Lands" of Dakota ; this, how
ever, has not been confirmed. The animals which
56
Study of North American Archaeology.
are represented, so far as they can be determined, are
those known to the modern fauna of the region occu
pied, the supposed elephant mound being in all
probability intended for a bear, as the proboscis ap
pears to have been an accidental addition of shifting
sand, varying in shape at different times, which had
entirely disappeared when the survey under the
author s direction was made in 1884. (Fig. 12.)
Fig. 12. Elephant mound, Wisconsin.
Examples of this type are seen in Fig. 10. The
author may be excused for expressing his surprise at
the truly imitative curving and rounding of the body
of the animal in some of the examples which have
come under his observation. Standing at the ex
tremity of one which has suffered but little weather
ing (as the bear in Fig. 10) , he was almost persuaded
that the builders had the animal lying before them as
a model. The greater number, however, are but
rude representations, yet there is never any difficulty
in assigning them to the proper classes. They vary
Atlantic Division. 57
in length from fifty to four hundred feet, and in
height from a. few inches to four or five feet. Where
placed near streams the heads usually point down
stream.
As a general rule, no special order appears to have
been observed in the arrangement of mounds in
groups, these being scattered irregularly over the area
occupied, the position being governed to some extent
by the topography. There are, however, some excep
tions to this rule. A somewhat remarkable one oc
curs in the region where the effigy mounds prevail.
Here we frequently find the conical tumuli of a group
arranged in one or two lines, usually straight or
nearly so, and somewhat evenly spaced. This may
be attributable in some cases to the topography, yet
there are a number of instances w^here this arrange
ment has been adopted on level areas of ample extent,
and where no special reason therefor is apparent.
What renders this the more interesting is the fact
that in the same section lines of similar mounds
frequently occur, where they are connected with one
another by low embankments. An example of this
kind is seen in Fig. 13. The surrounding walls of
Fig. 13. Group of chain mounds, Wisconsin.
the noted group in Wisconsin, known as "Aztalan,"
and an extensive group in Vanderburg county, In-
58 Study of North American Archaeology.
diana, appear to be but slight modifications of the
chain-mound type. As the elongate mounds are
found in the same section, it is possible that the three
types lines of conical tumuli, chain mounds, as the
connected series are named, and the wall mounds
are steps in an evolutionary process, probably from
the solid to the separated.
So far as mounds of these series have been exam
ined, no evidence has been found to justify the belief
that they were intended as burial-places. On the
contrary, as they are usually low and flattened, and
frequently contain indications of fire, they are be
lieved to be house or wigwam sites. One of the
groups containing mound series of these types is in
the precise locality Winnebago Indians are known to
have occupied.
Although rich, dry alluvial areas in the vicinity of
a stream or a lake were favorite localities with the
mound-builders, the necessity for guarding against
the approach of enemies, of being in the vicinity of a
food and water supply, and other reasons which gov
erned the location of native villages, varied this rule.
Hence we find numerous ancient works on the re
stricted summits of hills and bluffs, on the islets and
hummocks in the midst of swamps and marshes, and
along the narrow valleys and even defiles of mountain
regions. Nor are they wanting on the bottom lands
of large rivers where the area is subject to occasional
overflow. From these facts may be legitimately drawn
the inference that the ancient inhabitants who con
structed these works were split into numerous hostile
tribes, the stronger occupying the level and choice
localities, while the weaker were forced to seek refuge
Atlantic Division. 59
in the rugged regions or amid the swamps and
marshes.
Some of the effigies of Wisconsin occur on quite
steep hillsides, and others on crested spurs where the
summit is so narrow as to necessitate lapping over
from one side to the other ; and some of the long
mounds are found running directly or obliquely down
quite steep slopes. In some instances, as in Calhoun
county, Illinois, and north-eastern Missouri, long
lines of conical tumuli, usually showing evidences of
burial, occur on the sharp crests of ridges so narrow
as to barely afford space for their construction. Oc
casionally they are placed immediately on the margin
of a precipitous bluff. Hundreds of groups, some of
which are quite extensive, are located on the low
ridges and hummocks in the swampy regions of south
eastern Missouri and north-eastern Arkansas ; in fact,
one of the richest archaeologic fields of the Atlantic
division is found in this section : it is pre-eminently
the region of ancient pottery.
The general distribution of the mounds and other
ancient works of that portion of the division in the
United States may be seen by reference to the map
compiled under the direction of the author and pub
lished by the Bureau of Ethnology in the 12th Annual
Report. It is seen by examining this, that the areas
where these prehistoric works are most abundant are
central and western New York ; eastern and southern
Michigan ; the banks of the Mississippi from La Crosse,
Wisconsin, to Natchez, Mississippi ; the central and
south-western part of Ohio and adjoining portion of
Indiana ; central and western Kentucky ; middle and
eastern Tennessee ; and the south-west corner of
60 Study of North American Archaeology.
North Carolina and north-east corner of Georgia,
The east side of Florida is well dotted with shell-
heaps. It would be interesting to refer to the sug
gestions which a study of this map brings before the
mind, but this must be left chiefly to the reader.
There are however one or two inferences which appear
legitimate that may be properly mentioned bere.- One
is that the greater numbers on some areas com
pared with others is owing in part to the more thor
ough exploration of these areas, yet it is not probable
that future explorations will materially change the
map in this respect. Another is that the statement
frequently made by authors that the mound distribu
tion continues through Texas is incorrect. It would
also appear to be a fair inference, judging by the map,
that there were no important movements of popula
tion to or from the south-west. The almost total ab
sence of mounds east of the Alleghany Mountains is
also a marked feature.
Burial Mounds. 61
CHAPTER VI.
BURIAL MOUNDS.
Having studied the form and external appearance
of these silent monuments of the past, let us remove
the sod with which the growth of centuries has covered
them and examine the interior to see what it has to
reveal, what it has to tell us of the past. Tombs
are often the treasure houses of savages and semi-
civilized people. Guarded by superstition the treas
ures remain untouched until rifled by people of an
other race who have no fear of the deity invoked for
their protection.
However, before seeking for the hidden treasures, we
will try to answer the question, How did the ancient
people do the work required in building these earthen
structures ? Though a mound seems to be but a simple
heap of earth that called for no skill, yet the question
is a pertinent one. The mound-builders had neither
iron nor steel of which to form spades and shovels,
nor had they beasts of burden to assist in the trans
portation of material. Stone hoes, wooden spades
and bivalve shells were probably the chief implements
they used for digging up the soil ; and baskets, mats
and skins borne by individuals were most likely the
means they employed for transporting the material.
Nor is this wholly conjecture, as stone implements
well adapted to this purpose, especially if hafted, are
found in almost every section. All these implements,
62 Study of North American Archaeology.
as we are informed by the early explorers, were used
by the Indians in their agricultural pursuits. The
large, roughly-chipped, leaf-shaped stone implements
so abundant in some sections, scores of which were
found by the agents of the Bureau of American Ethnol
ogy at a single point in southern Illinois, were doubt
less used for this purpose. The thin-bladed, so-called
grooved axes are supposed to have been used, when
transversely hafted, partly as digging implements.
It is often the case w^hen a mound is carefully ex
cavated and closely scanned as the work proceeds,
especially where the material is clay or muck, that
the individual loads can readily be discerned. As the
earth of which the mounds are composed is usually
gathered up from the surrounding surface, the interior
will vary in color and character only as the soil so
gathered up varies. This may be illustrated by a
partial section of a Mississippi mound shown in Fig.
14. Here the lower stratum (No. 5) is black soil in
lumps, or small masses, presumably the top soil of the
surrounding surface ; No. 4 red earth in small masses ;
No. 3 (the grey streak not numbered in the figure)
red clay ; No. 2 grey clay ; and No. 1 the top cover
ing accumulated since the mound was built. How
ever, very many of the mounds are stratified in such
a way as to show that this has been done intentionally,
even where it was necessary to bring the material for
one or more layers from a distance of a fourth , or a half
a mile, or more. The places from whence material was
taken to build the small or moderate sized mounds are
seldom discernible at the present day, but depressions
plainly mark the points about the larger works, as the
Burial Mounds.
63
Cahokia and Etowah mounds and some of the in-
closures of Ohio and elsewhere. In some cases the
one act has been made to serve two purposes, that is
to say, the earth used to construct the mound or other
work has been taken from one or two points so as to
leave a basin-shaped excavation for holding water, or
Fig. 14. Section of a Mississippi mound.
to form a trench to serve as a protective moat, or
for drainage or other purposes. In some cases the
earth has been taken from a trench immediately
around the mound. The latter are interesting, as it
would seem therefrom that the comparative size of
the mound had been determined before beginning the
work .
Mr. Gerard Fowke, who has had considerable ex
perience in excavating mounds in various sections of
64 Study of North American Archaeology.
the country and of almost every form known to the
division, has expressed the opinion that a mound one
hundred feet in diameter at base and twenty feet
high, could have been thrown up by a hundred men,
with the means the mound-builders had at hand, in
forty-two days. Marquis de Nadaillac objects to this as
sertion as one negatived by all the data obtained. How
ever it is rather a question of practical mathematics
than of archaeology. A simple calculation is all that
is necessary to show that twenty-five loads, each con
taining half a cubic foot of earth, carried per day by
each man, would complete the mound in forty-two
days. As the usual distance the loads had to be car
ried was from fifty to a hundred yards, and the loose
top soil was selected, twenty-five loads of half a cubic
foot each is not an unreasonable allowance. The
single loads, as plainly indicated by the little biscuit,
or pone-shaped masses in many of the mounds, cer
tainly exceed in size this estimate. It would appear,
therefore, that Mr. Fowke was warranted in his con
clusion.
The internal arrangements or modifications relating
to or having connection with burials are so various
that only the more common and important can be re
ferred to here. A type quite common in the north
western portion of the division, is that, where a slight
excavation has been made in the original surface of
the ground to receive the body or bodies, or more
likely skeletons, as in many, if not a majority of cases
of this type, the flesh has been removed before burial,
the lower limbs drawn up, or the bones disarticulated
and bundled, or stretched out horizontally and the
Burial Mounds. 65
mound heaped over them. It was not unusual to
form the first or lower layer thrown over them of
tough clay, which must have been, in some instances,
in a plastic state when deposited, as may be judged
by the way it has worked itself into the cavities of
the skull. Sometimes the entire mound consists of
this hard clay layer. In mounds of this class in
trusive burials are readily distinguished from the
original ones.
The simplest method of burial, of which examples
are found in most of the sections, was to lay the out
stretched body or bodies on the surface of the ground
and heap the earth over them. In Ohio and West
Virginia some examples occur where the surface of
the ground was first smoothed and packed : over this
was spread a floor of bark, on which was sprinkled a
layer of ashes a few inches thick. The body was
then laid on the ashes and covered with bark, and
over this the mound was heaped. In some cases the
bodies are found in a sitting posture, and where there
are several they are sometimes facing one another.
It is probable, however, that some of the cases re
corded, especially in the north-western section, were
really bundled skeletons, the fact that the bones were
in a heap, with the head on top, being taken as proof
that they were originally in a sitting posture.
In a majority of cases, no rule in regard to the po
sition of the bodies relative to the cardinal points was
observed. Fig. 15 shows the stratification of a mound
in eastern Tennessee containing a large number of
skeletons all in the lower layer (#, #,) . The explana
tion of this figure is as follows :
5 -
Study of North American Archaeology.
a, a, Dark layer of sandy soil, li feet
thick.
6, 6, Thin layer of burnt clay, 3 to 4
inches.
c, c, Dark sandy soil, 2-J- feet.
d, d, Second layer of burnt clay, 3
inches.
e, e, Dark sandy soil, 1| feet.
/, /, Third layer of burnt clay, 3
inches.
g, g, Dark mucky soil (about 4 feet)
resting on the original surface of the
ground.
//, Central shaft of alternate dish-
shaped layers of burnt clay and ashes.
2, ? , Remains of upright cedar posts.
Although all the skeletons were in
the bottom layer, they were not all, nor
even the greater part, resting on the
original surface of the ground, but at
different depths. All were stretched
out horizontally except two ; one of
these was in a sitting posture, and the
other folded up and lying on its right
side, and was probably buried after the
flesh had been removed. It was judged
from the indications that some, at least,
of the burials were made in this way :
the body, after being deposited, was covered with a
layer of cane or brush ; over this was spread clay or
muck in a plastic state, and upon this a fire was built.
Among the relics found in this tumulus were earthen
pots and basins, generally at the heads of the skele-
Burial Mounds.
67
tons (Fig. 16); shell beads, shell ear ornaments (Fig.
17) and hair-pins (?); engraved shells similar to that
shown at Fig. 18 ; soapstone pipes (Fig. 19) ; flint
Fig. 16. Earthen pot, east Tennessee.
arrow and spear heads
stones ; bone implements
was by a skeleton. As
the skeleton and iron
chisel lying with it were
in the layer, <;, #, they
must have been placed
before the unbroken stra
tum, /, /, and the other
undisturbed strata above
were deposited, and
hence can not possibly
be attributed to an in
trusive, or even after
burial. It is evident that
burials in the mound
ceased when layers, /, /,
and e, e, were deposited,
unless these layers were
cut, of which there was
no evidence.
polished celts ; discoidal
and one iron chisel, which
Fig. 17. Shell ear ornament or
hairpin.
68 Study of North American Archaeology.
In another large mound in the same valley and be
longing to the same series, the plan appears to have
been exactly reversed : the bottom layer, which was
level and not rounded on top, was not used for burial
Fig. 18. Engraved shell, North Carolina.
purposes, the heavy single layer above it containing
all of the ninety skeletons unearthed. This valley of
the Little Tennessee was occupied, from prehistoric
Fig. 19. Soapstone pipe, east Tennessee.
times until their removal, by the Overhill Cherokees,
whose villages were located on the precise spots where
the mound groups are found.
Another form of burial has been observed in west-
Burial Mounds.
69
70 Study of North American Archaeology.
era North Carolina. Here a circular or triangular
excavation to the depth of two or three feet was
made : the bodies (or skeletons) were placed on the
bottom, usually in a sitting posture, and most of them
covered with beehive-shaped vaults of cobble-stones
(Fig. 20). In one instance, in Eastern Tennessee,
instead of an excavation, a wall was built of cobble
stones on the surface of the ground, and the vaults
arranged within it. Similarly shaped burial vaults,
of hardened clay, have been discovered in West Vir
ginia mounds. Many important relics were obtained
from the North Carolina mounds ; among other things
some of the finest specimens of engraved shells which
have been found in the United States (Fig. 18) ; also
soapstone pipes with stems, bearing a close resem-
Fig. 21. Soapstone pipe, North Carolina.
blance to the old-fashioned clay pipes of the whites
(Fig. 21) . It is somewhat singular that although
James Adair, in his "History of the American In
dians," describes the soapstone pipes made by the
Cherokees as precisely of the form of what is known
as the "Monitor Pipe," mentioned below (Fig. 46) ;
none of those discovered in North Carolina or east
Tennessee mounds are of precisely that form, though
probably modifications of it.
Another important mode of burial, both in mounds
and in cemeteries, was in box-shaped stone sepulchers,
Burial Mounds. 71
These appear to have been constructed as follows :
In a pit some two or three feet deep and of the desired
dimensions, dug for the purpose, a number of flat stones
are placed to form the floor ; next, similar pieces are
set on edge to form the sides and ends, over which
other slabs are laid flat, forming the covering ; the
whole, when finished, making a rude, box-shaped
coffin or sarcophagus. Sometimes the bottom layer
was omitted. Graves of this kind occur often in
great numbers in southern Illinois, Kentucky, middle
and east Tennessee, north-eastern Georgia, and at
certain points in Ohio, though the sections of greatest
abundance are southern Illinois and middle Ten
nessee. Mounds in these last-named sections are
frequently made up almost entirely of sepulchers of
this type, generally placed without regard to system
and sometimes in two or more tiers. One or two,
however, have been found in middle Tennessee, in
which the graves were arranged like the spokes of a
wheel, the heads being toward the center. In the
center of the mound, the point from which the sar
cophagi radiated, was a large clay vase or basin-
shaped vessel. There were two rows of coffins, one
outside of the other. Although the skeleton is usually
stretched at full length on the back, in some cases
the bones of adults have been disarticulated before
burial, and packed into stone graves of this type not
exceeding two feet in length and nine inches in width ;
and occasionally two and even three skeletons are
found in a single grave. A cemetery in Tennessee
composed chiefly of small graves of this type was, for
a time, supposed to be the burial-place of a race of
pigmies, but a more thorough examination showed
72
Study of North American Archaeology.
the graves to be the depositories of disarticulated
skeletons and children. There is usually no special
order in which these graves are arranged ; a cemetery
exhibiting the greatest regularity of any yet dis
covered is shown in Fig. 22. It is proper, however,
SfS* r - rr -RwVfiu Ife & i
Miff^Si? 1 ^- iil
&)
o>
I
to remark that some of the burials of this t}^pe in
southern Illinois appear beyond any reasonable doubt
to have been made by Indians after the advent of the
whites. A Kaskaskia Indian is known to have been
Burial Mounds. 73
buried in this kind of a grave in Jackson county, Illi
nois, in the early part of the present century.
Mounds are often found to cover vaults of wood or
stone. In some instances these vaults are square,
oblong, or circular inclosures, built up to the height
of two or three feet, of unhewn stone, laid without
the use of mortar. Occasionally they seem to have
been covered with timbers, but more frequently they
have been simply filled with earth after the bodies
were deposited within them. Dome-shaped stone
vaults also occur. In most cases, however, these
have partly fallen in, hence the restorations may not
be strictly correct. Wooden vaults or chambers of
two types have been discovered in Ohio and West
Virginia. One of these is a simple pen, usually
square, built of round logs ; the other of logs placed
upright around the inclosed space. In two or three
instances, two vaults, one above the other, were made
in the same mound. These are spoken of as vaults,
yet it is possible that, in some instances, they may have
been built for some other purpose than that of a tomb
or burial-place.
Stone graves and vaults are seldom found in the
mounds of the Gulf States. Usually the skeletons in
this section are in a horizontal position, generally
without any rule in regard to direction. Exceptional
cases occur in which all the bodies in a mound, or
most of them, are placed with the head in one direc
tion or arranged in a circle with heads toward the
center. A few instances have been noticed in southern
Georgia where the body had been buried in a sitting
posture, a post having been driven into the ground
and the dead lashed to it with the back against it.
74 Study of North American Archaeology.
In some of the Arkansas groups, many of the skele
tons have been found closely folded, though seldom
in a sitting posture. It appears from the evidence
obtained by the exploration of many of the low,
conical mounds of the latter section that usually these
were at first but house-sites, but death occurring in the
family, the dead were buried in the floor, the house
burned over them, and dirt heaped over the smolder
ing ruins. Sometimes the same mound was used
again as a dwelling site and burial-place.
Burial in ossuaries, or "bone-pits," was a common
mode in some parts of Canada, and not unknown
south of the lakes. It is supposed that, in some in
stances at least, these are the places of communal
burial, made at the "Great Feast of the Dead," when
the bones of those belonging to the tribe, village or
band, who had died during the previous ten or twelve
years, were deposited in a pit dug for this purpose.
Some of these contain as many as a thousand skele
tons, and according to the Report of the Canadian
Institute a number of them are known to be of "post-
European date," as copper and brass kettles have
been found in them.
That inhumation was the usual method of finally
disposing of the dead in this division, is indicated
by what has already been mentioned, and a some
what careful study of all the data leads to the conclu
sion that it was almost the only method adopted by
the ancient inhabitants. It is true, that coals and
ashes are of frequent occurrence in burial mounds,
and that partially burnt human bones are occasion
ally found, giving rise, in the minds of many archae
ologists, to the opinion that cremation was often
Burial Mounds. 75
practiced by the mound-builders, and that human
sacrifice was not infrequent. It is probable, however,
that these indications are due to other and quite dif
ferent customs, though it must be admitted that a few
instances have been noticed where it seems evident
the bodies were intentionally burned, but these are
extremely rare.
That fire was very frequently used in connection
with, or as part of the burial ceremonies, is certainly
true, but the evidence, when carefully studied, tends
to show that the burning of the bodies or bones, where
this has occurred, was, with few exceptions, accidental
rather than intentional. In Arkansas, where the exca
vations show that the house was burned over the dead,
the bodies were, in nearly every case, covered with suffi
cient earth to protect them from the fire. In Wisconsin
and northern Illinois it was not an uncommon cus
tom to cover the primary burial with a layer of clay
or mortar-like material, and then burn brush or other
material on it before completing the mound. Evi
dences of a similar method were also observed in
some mounds of eastern Tennessee. Evidences of
fires burned over vaults have been observed in Ohio,
West Virginia and North Carolina. In several in
stances, from want of proper care in forming the c 
