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x SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY: J. W. POWELL, DIRECTOR

WOR Is

iO ENO cle LORATTON

OF THE

BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY

CY OS TE OWrRAsS
Btw ats OF
AMERICAN FTHNOLOGY,

MAY, © 1914

LIBRARY

LY079

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
E837

WORK IN MOUND EXPLORATION OF THE BUREAU OF
ETHNOLOGY.

By Cyrus THOMAS.

It seems desirable at the present time to make a statement explain-
ing the plans and describing the work of the mound exploring division
of the Bureau of Ethnology, especially in view of the fact that neither
the plans nor the results of this work seem to be clearly understood by
all who are interested in the study of American archeology. It was
scarcely expected that a clear apprehension of these plans and the work
would be gained in advance of the publication of a full report of the
same; but, since such a report is well advanced towards completion
and since the collections thus far made have been turned over to the
National Museum, where they are open to the public, a brief prelimi-
nary statement of the plan being pursued and the work thus far accom-
plished seems appropriate now.

In undertaking the exploration of the mounds of our country upon
an extensive scale, the operations should be carried on according to
some definite plan. Three only seemed worthy of consideration, viz:

First. That which may be termed the systematic plan, which Coca
plates a comprehensive and accurate survey of all the ancient works of
the country and the preparation of maps and illustrations showing
their location and character, to be followed by thorough explorations
and investigations of these monuments.

Second. That which may be termed the local plan, which commences
with a limited locality and confines operations to it until all the ancient
works in it are thoroughly examined, figured, mapped, and described in
detail and the collections obtained there are studied; then moving to
another section.

Third. The comprehensive plan, or plan of general study, in which
the chief objects are to search for and study the various forms and types
of the works and minor vestiges of art and to mark out the different
archological districts as disclosed by investigation. This plan per-
mits the carrying on of operations at various points simultaneously or
removal from place to place as the types and forms of a section are
satisfactorily determined.

In any one of these plans the work which has been and is being
done by others should be taken into consideration so far as deemed
trustworthy, especially in connection with the third plan.

4 MOUND EXPLORING OF THE

Viewing the plans solely from a working standpoint, without consid-
ering the conditions and limitations under which the work has necessa-
rily been carried on by the Bureau or its relation to other subjects un-
dergoing simultaneous investigation, it is conceded that the first and
second are more systematic and more scientific than the third, the first
being entitled to preference in the latter respect. The third is, how-
ever, the plan under which the work has actually been done, and, as the
wisdom of adopting it has been, to some extent, questioned, it may not
be amiss to give here the reasons for its adoption :

First. A thorough and accurate survey of all the ancient works of
the country and the preparation of maps and charts showing their lo-
cation and character, accompanied by full descriptions, would require
the entire appropriation of the Bureau for at least ten years. To have
attempted a work of such magnitude with the means allowed the divis-
ion—though as liberal as proper regard to the other investigations of
the Bureau justified — would have entailed a great waste of money, as
no adequate results could possibly have. been obtained. Moreover, in
the mean time, the valuable contents of the mounds, which, after all,
furnish the chief data bearing upon the problems relating to the pre-
historic times of our country, would have passed into the hands of pri-

vate collectors, or would have been scattered, and thus in a great meas-
ure Jost to science.

Second. One leading object the Bureau and the Smithsonian Institution
have had in view in this work is to collect material and data which sci-
entists may study and by means of which the various questions relating
to the pre-Columbian age of this continent may ultimately be solved.
It was apparent that by neither the first nor the second plan could as
much be accomplished in this direction in a reasonable length of time
as by the third, especially if the variety of types and forms was to be
taken into consideration. Climatic obstacles rendered the second plan
impracticable if the field work was to be carried on throughout the
year, as desired.

The questions relating to prehistoric America are to be determined
not aloue by the study of its ancient monuments, but by the study also
of the languages, customs, art, beliefs, and foik-lore of the aborigines.
Only by such a comprehensive study can the exact relations of the an-
cient archwological remains to the historic Indian tribes be made ap-
parent.

Maj. J. W. Powell, the Director of the Bureau, taking this compre-
hensive and scientific view of the subject, saw at the outset the neces-
sity of deciding as soon as possible the question ** Were the mound
builders Indians?” If a careful examination and study of the works
and their contents should result in deciding it in the affirmative, then
the investigation of the questions relating to their objects and uses
would be merged in the study of the former habits, customs, art, beliefs,
&e., of the Indians. There would then be no more blind groping by

BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. 5

archeologists for the thread to lead them out of the mysterious laby-
rinth; the chain which binds together the prehistoric and the historic
ages of our country would then be known; a thousand and one wild
theories and archeological romances would be relegated to the shades
of oblivion; and, the relations of all the lines of investigation to one
another being known, these lines would lend common aid in solving
many of the problems which have hitherto seemed destined to remain
in complete obscurity. Should the result of the examination give a de-
cidedly negative answer to the question, one broad field at least would
be forever closed and the investigations would be limited to other lines.
In either case a great step toward the ultimate solution would be made
and the work in the various branches bearing on the numerous prob-
lems materially restricted.

The Director was desirous, therefore, of having the question definitely
settled in one way or the other, as ?¢ ts the pivot on which all the other
problems must turn, and this he believed could be done without await-
ing the long delay necessarily attending the adoption of the first or
second plan of operations. It seemed apparent that by the third plan the
various types and forms of the antiquities would be discovered and their
relations to one another determined in a shorter time than by any other
method. By following this plan and using proper care to note without
bias all the facts ascertained and to collect the specimens discovered,
the data would be preserved, without prejudice to other theories, for
the use and benefit of archeological students. Moreover, by having
the field work carried on in the northern sections in the summer and
in the southern sections during the winter months, it would suffer little
or no interruption from climatic obstacles.

Having decided upon the plan to be adopted, the next step was to
determine the area to which operations should be confined. As will be
seen by what precedes, it was assumed that the antiquities of the
country pertain to different archeological districts, which by proper
examination and study might perhaps be outlined geographically with
reasonable certainty. But these, if determined, would relate chiefly to
tribal distinctions and form but parts of one or more larger, compre-
hensive ethnological sections. As that part of the United States east
of the Rocky Mountains, together with the adjoining portions of the

3ritish Possessions, appears to form, so far as the eastern, southern, and
western boundaries are concerned, a tolerably well marked archeolog-
ical section, that part of this area within the United States was selected
as the field of operations.

That the results have fully justified the most sanguine expectations
and, in connection with the investigations of other workers in the same
field, have settled the question, so long in controversy, relating to the
authorship of these monuments, it is confidently believed, will be con-
ceded when the general report is published.

6 MOUND EXPLORING OF THE

Premising that accuracy as to details and statements, without regard
to their bearing on this or that theory, has been considered the chief
and all important point to be kept constantly in view in all the opera-
tions of the division, the methods of work developed (except during the
first year, when want of experience caused some of the details of aceu-
‘ate work to be omitted) have been substantially as follows:

A small division was organized in 1882 to which the work of exploring
and examining the antiquities in that part of the United States east of
the Rocky Mountains was assigned. This division was placed in my
charge, and one clerical and three field assistants were assigned me,
with the occasional addition of a temporary field assistant.

The localities examined were determined, to a certain extent, by cir-
cumstances, such as the character of the seasons, the permission of the
owners to examine the works, &e.; but the general plan, so far as it
could be carried out advantageously, was to work on three primary
north and south lines: the first and principal one, the immediate valley
of the Mississippi from Wisconsin southward; the second, from Ohio
southward through Kentucky to Mississippi; and the third, in the val-
leys of Hastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina, thence south-
ward through Georgia and Alabama to Florida. This program has as
yet been only partially carried out, the second line having received but
comparatively little attention. Sections which had been somewhat
carefully worked over, and of which the types and forms are tolerably
well known, were generally passed by.

In the field work it has been the custom, first, to make a full and
correct description of the groups examined, giving the topography of
the immediate locality, the forms, character, and dimensions of the
works and their relations to one another, accompanying these descrip-
tions by diagrams, maps, and figures drawn by the assistants. Hach
mound explored is first measured, and whenever it varies from the ordi-
nary conical type a figure of it is made. As the exploration proceeds
the character and thickness of the strata, the exaet positions of the
skeletons and relics found in it, and all other items deemed interesting
or important are noted at the time in a memorandum book kept at hand
for this purpose. In most cases where important finds are indicated
outline figures of both the horizontal and the vertical sections are drawn,
on which the positions of the skeletons and relies are marked as found.
The diagrams and sections of mounds which will be given in the report
(one of which, showing the relative positions, horizontally, of the skel-
etons in an Hast Tennessee mound, is here presented in Fig. 1) are not
imaginary nor are they made from memory. As the skeletons are found
and noted in the memorandum book, each is numbered both in the book
and on the sketch. In the description opposite the number in the book
the particulars regarding the skeleton are given and mention is made of
any specimens found with it. This is given in addition to the general

BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. ti

description or field report rendered by the assistant, unless incorporated
init. Three of the models prepared by the artists of the Bureau for
the New Orleans Iixposition and made entirely from these descriptions
and figures are now on exhibition in the National Museum.

N

Ss.
Fic. 1.— Relative positions of skeletons in an East Tennessee mound.

In order to preserve the data regarding the specimens, notes are made
at the time they are collected stating where they were found, whether
in mounds, in graves, or on the surface, and how obtained, and by whom.
The colleetor’s field numbers are marked on the specimens, and corre-
sponding lists are made and transmitted with each shipment. All col-
lections are sent direct to the Bureau of Ethnology, addressed to ‘ Maj.
J. W. Powell, Director, Washington, D. ©.,” thus insuring an official
record of each shipment. There they are opened, examined, and com-
pared with the field lists and carefully catalogued, the field numbers
being inserted and the numbers of the Bureau series being added. They
are then turned over to the National Museum and the Smithsonian num
bers are placed upon them. In order to insure accuracy the Smithsonian
numbers are placed upon them and the Bureau and Smithsonian eata-
loguing is done before the actual removal and distribution among the

§ MOUND EXPLORING OF THE

departments to which they go in the National Museum. This affords
opportunity for a careful comparison of the catalogues with each other
and with the specimens. The final catalogues contain not only the col-
lector’s, Bureau, and Museum numbers, which form checks upon one
another, but also the name of the article, the locality, the collectors
name, and remarks indicating the conditions under which each was
found. These particulars are, of course, incomplete in reference to
specimens purchased or donated.

As an illustration the heading of the columns and one line from the
general catalogue are given here:

Name of article. Locality. Collector. Remarks.

Collector’s
number.
Bureau num
ber
Smithsonian
number.

|
|

|
116,021} Boat-shaped pot ..| Lenoir group, Lou- | John W. Emmert..) From mound No. 2,
don Co., Tenn. by skeleton No. 49.

a)
©
0

o
90
cy
re)

Two copies of this catalogue are made, one to be retained by the
Bureau, the other to be transmitted with the specimens to the Secretary
of the Smithsonian Institution for use in the National Museum.

Although the specimens go into the general collection of the National
Museum they are so carefully marked and numbered that by reference
to the catalogue any one, under the systematic arrangement adopted
in the archeological division of the Museum, can easily be picked out,
and the precise locality in which and cireumstanees under whieh it was
found can be ascertained. It may not be amiss to add that the col-
lections made by the Bureau are kept well in hand until this aceuraey
is assured and the duplicate catalogues are made out and compared,
so that antiquarians and students of American archieology may rely
implicitly on what is stated in regard to them. By reference to the
forthcoming report all the particulars known regarding them, as well
as all the facts ascertained in reference to the works from which they
were obtained, will be found.

The sections in which operations have chiefly been carried on are as
follows: Southwestern Wisconsin and the adjoining sections of Minne-
sota, Lowa, and Illinois, the northeastern part of Missouri, the west-
ern part of Southern Hlinois, Southeastern Missouri, the eastern part
of Arkansas, certain points in Northern and Western Mississippi, the
Kanawha Valley of West Virginia, East Tennessee, Western North
Carolina, Northern Georgia, and a few points in Northern Florida.
Some work has also been done in New York, Ohio, Kentucky, West
Tennessee, Alabaina, and Southwestern Georgia.

Hundreds of groups have been examined and, in most eases, sur-
veyed, platted, and described. Over two thousand mounds have been
explored, including almost every known type as to form, from the low,
diminutive, circular burial tumulus of the North to the huge, truncated,

BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. Y

earthen pyramid of the South, the embankment, the effigy, the stone
cairn, house site, &c. Every hitherto known variety as to construe-
tion, as well as quite a number decidedly different in details, has been
examined. Some of the latter are very interesting and furnish im-
portant data. Particular attention has been paid to this branch of the
work, because the mode of construction and the methods of burial in
the ordinary conical tumuli furnish valuable data in regard to the cus-
toms of the builders and aid in determining the archeological districts.
Many ancient graves and cemeteries and several caches and cave de-
posits have also been explored.

The number of specimens obtained by the division since its organiza-
tion is not less than thirty-eight thousand; fully one-half of these were
discovered by the assistants during their explorations; the remainder
were obtained by donations and purchase, though not more than $500
have been expended by the Bureau for this purpose.

The specimens procured by the field assistants in person constitute
by far the most valuable portion of the collection, since the particulars
regarding their discovery and surroundings are known. Among them
will be found not only nearly every variety as to material, form, and
ornamentation hitherto obtained in that part of the United States east
of the Rocky Mountains, but also a considerable number of new and
interesting kinds. But, notwithstanding the success of the division in
this respect, not a single stone or tablet with anything like letters or
hieroglyphies inscribed on it, by which linguists might be able to judge
of the language of the mound builders, has been discovered.

Some singular and rather unexpected discoveries, however, have been
made, which it may not be amiss to mention before giving a brief ac-
count of the collections. From a mound in Wisconsin were obtained a
few silver crosses, silver brooches, and silver bracelets, one of the last
with the word “ Montreal” stamped on it in plain letters. These evi-
dently pertained to an intrusive burial. In another Wisconsin mound,
which stands in the midst of a group of effigies, was found, lying at the
bottom on the original surface of the ground, near the center, a genuine,
regularly-formed gunflint. In another, in Tennessee, some six feet high
and which showed no signs of disturbance, an old fashioned, horn-
handled case knife was discovered near the bottom. Far down in an-
other of large size and also in comparatively modern Indian graves, at
widely different points, have been found little sleigh-bells, probably
what were formerly known as “ hawk bells,” made of copper, with peb-
ble and shell bead rattles, and all of precisely the same pattern and
finish. From a group in Northern Mississippi, in the locality formerly
occupied by the Chickasaw, were obtained a silver plate, with the
Spanish coat of arms stamped upon it, and the iron portions of a saddle.
At the bottom of a North Carolina mound parts of an iron blade and
an iron awl were discovered in the hands of the principal personage
buried therein; with these were engraved shells and polished celts.

10 . MOUND EXPLORING OF THE

At the bottom of an undisturbed Pennsylvania mound, accompanying
the original interment, of which but slight evidences remained, was :
joint of large cane, wrapped in pieces of thin and evenly wrought silver
foil, smoothly cut in fancy figures. In addition to these, the assistants
have obtained from mounds such things as brass kettles with iron bails,
brass wire, wooden ladles, glass beads, &c. Some of these things clearly
pertained to intrusive burials, but a large portion of them were evidently
placed in the mounds at the time they were constructed and with the
original interment, as shown by their position when discovered.

Of the collections, perhaps the most important portion in an archwo-
logical view is the pottery, of which some fourteen or fifteen hundred
vessels have been obtained, including most of the known varieties and
several that are new as to form and ornamentation. Among these are
two or three full faced pots, of which but a single specimen had been
previously discovered. This collection, which is being carefully studied
by Mr. W. H. Holmes, it is believed will be found to contain most, if
not all, of the hitherto known types of textile impressions, as well as
some new ones.

An unusually large number of polished and picked celts have been
secured, including every known pattern and variety yet found in the
area investigated. A special value attaches to this collection of celts
from the faet that it has been mostly obtained from mounds and affords
a means of comparing true mound specimens with surface finds.

The number of stone pipes obtained is proportionally large, including
a good portion of the known forms and several that are new. But
the most important facet connected with this part of the collection is
that it so supplements the collections in this line made by others that
with them it enables the archreologist to trace the evolution of the
comparatively modern and historic form from the “ monitor,” or supposed
earliest mound pipe. The record of localities whence they have been
obtained also indicates geographically the line of this evolution and,
so far as the testimony bears upon the question, gives a decided nega-
tive to the supposition that the Ohio pipe making mound builders went
southward to the Gulf States.

A fair number of copper articles, including nearly all the types hith-
erto known, are in the collection. In addition to these, two new and
decidedly the most important types yet discovered have been unearthed.
These, as is known to the public through articles published in Science,
are large thin and even plates, stamped with elaborate figures, evi-
dently of Mexican or Central American designs.

The collection of engraved shells obtained from mounds probably
exceeds in number, variety, and importance any other in the country.
Several of them will be found illustrated in Mr. Holmes’s paper, entitled
“Art in Shell,” published in the third annual report of the Bureau.

The specimens of textile fabries and remnants of matting though not
numerous are important and valuable. One of the assistants obtained

BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. 11

from a cave deposit in Tennessee, where the burial had taken place in
historic times, certainly not over a hundred years ago, textile fabrics
and matting quite well preserved. The mat, which is made of cane, has
a broad colored submarginal stripe, is almost entire, is well preserved,
and is made precisely as the fragments found in mounds are made. The
piece of textile fabric, nearly two feet square and well preserved, was
in an unfinished state when buried, and was formed in the woven por-
tion by a stitch supposed to be peculiar to the mound builders, the
pattern of which is presented by the impressions on many pieces of
typical mound pottery. Nor will the reader be disposed to doubt the
opinion expressed as to the recency of the burial when we add that
with these relics were the bones of a dog from which the skin had not
all decayed. With the cloth and matting were also the bone imple-:
ments used in weaving.

The collection of chipped flint implements, stone axes, discoidal
stones, gorgets, &c., is large. Among thestone articles are parts of two
well made stone images which must have been nearly half life size.
Bone implements, shells, &c., are in fair proportion. Large numbers
of shell beads have been discovered in almost every section and a few
pearls have also been obtained, but the assistants of the Bureau have
not been so fortunate as to discover anything like the immense number
of the latter reported from an Ohio mound.

Judging by all the data so far obtained by the Burean, together with
that from other workers in the same field, the following conclusions ap-
pear to be fully justified :

First. That the monnd-builders of the area designated consisted of a
number of tribes or peoples bearing about the same relation to one
another and occupying about the same culture status as the Indian
tribes inhabiting the country when first visited by Europeans. This is
proven not only by the differences in the form of the works of the dif-
ferent districts and in the modes of their construction, in the methods
of burial, and in the form and ornamentation of the minor vestiges of
art, but also by the numerous evidences everywhere seen of tribal war-
fare and the means of defense adopted.

Second. That the archeological districts, as determined by the inves-
tigations of the mounds and other ancient works and remains, conform
to a certain extent to the localities of the tribes or groups of cognate
tribes of Indians at the time of the discovery. It is true that there are
evidences of migrations and changes and that the rule holds good only
in a general sense; yet the agreements in this respect are suflicient to
justity the use of the facts as data in arriving at a conclusion regarding
the origin of these works.

Third. That nothing trustworthy has been discovered to justify the
theory that the mound builders belonged to a highly civilized race or
that they were a people who had attained a higher culture status than

1. MOUND EXPLORING OF THE

the Indians. It is true that works and papers on American archeology
are full of statements to the contrary, which are generally based on the
theory that the mound builders belonged to a race of much higher cult-
ure than the Indians. Yet, when the facts on which this opinion is
based are examined with sober, scientific care, the splendid fabric which
has been built upon them by that great workman, imagination, fades
from sight.

Fourth. That each tribe adopted several different methods of burial,
these differences in methods depending, in all probability, to some ex-
tent, upon the relative position, social standing, and occupation of the
individuals. To justify this conclusion it is only necessary to mention
the frequent occurrence of two or three different modes of burial in a
single group of similar mounds.

Vifth. That the custom of removing the flesh before the final burial
prevailed very extensively among the mound builders of the northern
districts and was not uncommon among those of the southern districts.
The proofs of this custom are so abundant and conclusive that it cannot
be doubted. Not only are found the bones of the common people, which
have been gathered together and cast into a promiscuous heap with a
mound built over them, but graves formed of stone slabs are frequently
met with, of less than two feet in length and one in width and depth,
containing the bones of an adult. The bundled skeletons and skeleton
burials alluded to by-the old Jesuit fathers are frequently brought to
light during the exploration of the northern mounds. It is a very com.
mon error to suppose that these bone filled mounds are the burial places
of warriors slain in some great battle; the condition and the relations
of the bones show beyond question that they were buried after the flesh
had been removed, and sometimes after long exposure to the air.

Sixth. That usually, or at least very often, some kind of religious or
superstitious ceremony was performed at the burial, in which fire played
a conspicuous part. Notwithstanding the very common belief to the
contrary, there is no evidence whatever that human sacrifice, in the true
sense, was practiced. It is possible that cremation may have been re-
sorted to, to a limited extent; yet the burning of body or bones appears
to have been oftener accidental than intentional.

Seventh. That in the southern districts the large flat topped mounds
were occupied, as a general rule, by the council houses and the residences
of the chiefs and principal personages of the tribes. Mound testimony
and history are in perfect accord in reference to this point.

Kighth. That in some of these southern districts, especially those of
the valley of the Lower Mississippi, where the bottoms are low, it was
the custom to erect dwellings on low mounds apparently constructed
for this purpose, and when deaths occurred to bury in the floors of
these dwellings, burn the houses, and heap mounds over them before
they were entirely consumed or while the embers were yet smoldering.
The houses in these districts appear to have been constructed of upright

BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. t3

posts set in the ground, to have been lathed with cane or twigs and
plastered with clay, haying the roofs thatched Dey, as described by
the early French explorers.

Ninth. That the links discovered directly connecting the Indians and
mound builders are so numerous and well established that there should
be no longer any hesitancy in accepting the theory that the two are one
and the same people.

Tenth. That the statements of the early navigators and explorers as
to the habits, customs, circumstances, &c., of the Indians when first
visited by Europeans are largely confirmed by what has been discov-
ered in the mounds and other ancient works of our country. This is
especially true as regards the discoveries made by the Bureau assist-
ants in Arkansas, Georgia, and other Southern States. They bear out
even to details the statements of the chroniclers of De Soto’s expedition
and of the early French explorers of the valley of the Lower Missis-
sippi.

Eleventh. The evidence oktained appears to be sufficient to justify
the conclusion that particular works and the works of certain localities
are to be attributed to particular tribes known to history, thereby ena-
bling the archeologist to determine in some cases, to a Fines extent,
the lines of migration. For example, the proof is apparently conclusive
that the Cherokee were mound builders and that to them are to be
attributed most of the mounds of East Tennessee and Western North
Carolina; it also renders it probable that they were the authors of the
ancient works of the Kanawha Valley in West Virginia. There are
also strong indications that the Tallegwi of tradition were Cherokee
and the authors of some of the principal works of Ohio. The proof is
equally conclusive that to the Shawnee are to be attributed the box-
shaped stone graves, and the mounds and other works directly con-
nected with them, in the region south of the Ghio, especially those of
Kentucky, Tennessee, and Northern Georgia, and possibly also some of
the mounds and stone graves in the vicinity of Cincinnati. The stone
graves in the valley of the Delaware and most of those in Ohio are
attributable to the Delaware Indians. There are suflicient reasons for
believing that the ancient works in Northern Mississippi were built
chiefly by the Chickasaw ; those in the region of Flint River, Southern
Georgia, by the Uchee; and that a large portion of those of the Gulf
States were built by the Muskokee tribes. The evidence obtained is
rendering it quite probable that the Winnebago were formerly mound-
builders and the authors not only of burial tumuli, but also of some of
those strange works known as ‘effigy mounds,” so common in Wiscon-
sin. That most of the ancient works of New York must be attributed
to the Iroquois tribes is now generally conceded.

Twelfth. The testimony of the mounds is very decidedly against the
theory that the mound builders were Mayas or Mexicans, who, driven
out of this region by the pressure of Indian hordes, migrated to the

14 MOUND EXPLORING OF THE

valley of Anahuac or plains of Yucatan. It is also as decidedly against
Morgan’s theory that they pertained to the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico.
It likewise gives a decided negative to the suggestion that the builders
of the Ohio works were pushed south into the Gulf States and incor-
porated into the Muskokee group. <A study of the pipes, aside from
any other evidence, is sufficient to show that this theory is not tenable.
Moreover, a study of the werks of Ohio and their contents should con-
vince the archeologist that they were built by several different tribes
and pertain to widely different eras.

Thirteenth. Although much the larger portion of the ancient monu-
ments of our country belong to prehistoric times and some of them
possibly to the distant past, yet the evidence of contact with European
civilization is found in so many, where it cannot be attributed to intru-
sive burial, and in such widely separated localities, that it must be
conceded a goodly number of them were built subsequent to the dis-
covery of the continent by Huropeans. Even some of the mounds of
Ohio, in which, according to report, such remarkable discoveries have
been made, appear to belong to this latter category.

So far as the mound testimony bears at all upon the question of the
entry of the tribes into the Mississippi Valley, it leans toward the theory
which brings those of the northern and central districts from the North-
west. But here speculation must form such an important factor in
reaching a conclusion that it would be at best but a conjecture. All
that can be said on this point with any degree of confidence is that
some of the tribes of mound builders whose works are found in Ohio
moved along the line leading from Iowa to the valley of the Ohio.
There are some indications that ofishoots from southern tribes pene-
trated northward to the region of Northern Illinois, but were soon
destroyed or driven back.

The manuscript of the report to which allusion is made in the com-
mencement of this paper is nearly ready for the press and most of the
illustrations (between five and six hundred) are prepared. It will form,
when printed, two quarto volumes of about five hundred pages each.
The subjects of which it treats will be arranged as follows:

First. The report of field work to the close of 1886, arranged by States
wnd counties. This will form the chief portion.

Second. A chapter or section on the gecgraphical distribution of the
ancient monuments. This will include a catalogue, arranged alphabet-
ically by States and counties, of the localities of all the mounds and-
ancient works which have been discovered in the region investigated,
of which mention has been made in print, as well as those referred to
in the report. References will also be given by page and volume to the
books, papers, periodicals, &e., in which they are noticed. Maps will
be introduced to illustrate this distribution.

BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. 15

Third. A general description of the types and forms of the ancient
works and of the vestiges of art found in them, with special reference
to the districts to which they pertain. Although the discoveries made
by others will be freely referred to in this division of the report, it will
be based chiefly upon the explorations and discoveries of the Bureau
of Hthnelogy. This part of the work will also include an attempt at a
limiced classification, by the writer; papers on the collections of pottery,
shells, and textile fabrics, by Mr. W. Hf. Holmes; a paper descriptive of
the stone articles, by Mr. Gerard Fowke; and a paper on the copper
articles, by Mr. H. L. Reynolds.

Fourth. A discussion of the question Were the mound builders In-
dians? by the writer.

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