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PAPERS OF THE
PEABODY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY
VOL. VIII .- No. 1
INDIAN VILLAGE SITE AND CEMETERY NEAR MADISONVILLE OHIO
V. 8
BY EARNEST A. HOOTON
WITH NOTES ON THE ARTIFACTS BY CHARLES C. WILLOUGHBY
THIRTY PLATES AND FIVE ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. PUBLISHED BY THE MUSEUM 1920
913.4 H 33
COPYRIGHT, 1920 BY THE PEABODY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY
NOTE
THE explorations which form the basis of the following paper were carried on intermittently under the auspices of the Peabody Museum from 1882 to 1911. During this period, Dr. Charles L. Metz of Madisonville, the discoverer of the site, had general supervision of the work.
By the terms of the will of Miss Phoebe Ferris, the late owner of the land upon which the cemetery is situated, the right to complete the explorations after her death in 1897 was granted the Museum, and the work was then carried on principally by students in the Division of Anthropology, connected with the Museum, under the general oversight of Dr. Metz.
The extensive collections of skeletal remains and artifacts, and more than two hundred and fifty photographs taken during the investigations are in the Museum.
It is hoped that the study of these remains as set forth in the following pages will prove of special value to students of the archaeology of the Ohio region, as it connects the culture of the occupants of this site definitely with the protohistoric and late prehistoric period of the valley.
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS July 7, 1920
iji
CONTENTS
THE DISCOVERY OF THE SITE AND HISTORY OF THE EXPLORATIONS
The Discovery
1
Excavations by C. L. Metz
3
Excavations by F. W. Putnam
5
Excavations by J. R. Swanton
6
Excavations by R. E. Merwin
7
Excavations by B. W. Merwin
9
THE BURIALS
Depth of Interments 10
Forms of Burial
11
Horizontal or Extended Burials .
11
Contracted Burials 11
Burials in Sitting Posture
11
Collective and Disturbed Burials
12
Burials in Cache-pits
12
Anomalous Burials
13
Grouping of Burials
14
Orientation of Burials 15
Objects Associated with Burials 16
Burials of Special Interest
19
Total Number of Burials
20
Death Rate as Indicated by Burials
20
Population, and Period of Use of Cemetery
23
THE CACHE-PITS
Their Discovery 27
Number and Depth
28
Contents and Stratification . 29
Fauna Represented in the Pits 32
Artifacts from the Pits
33
Form of the Pits
35
Grouping in Relation to Burials
36
Their Purpose
36
PAGE
vi
CONTENTS
HEARTHS AND OTHER REMAINS
Hearths and Fireplaces
Post-holes
Kitchen-middens
House Circles
ARTIFACTS FROM THE SITE
General Distribution of Types
Knives and Projectile Points
Arrowmaker's Tools
Arrowpoints
Flint Drills
Skin-dressing Tools
Grooveless Stone Axes
Stone Adze Blades
Anvils, Hammer-stones and Grinding Stones
Fishing Implements Awls and Needles
Antler Blades
Beaver Tooth Chisels
Musical Instruments
Personal Ornaments of Shell
Implements and Utensils of Shell
Combs and Personal Ornaments of Bone and Antler
Personal Ornaments of Copper
Personal Ornaments of Brass
Iron Objects
Glass Beads
Tobacco Pipes
Incised Drawings, etc.
Textile Fabrics and Wooden Utensils
Pottery
THE SKELETAL REMAINS
Collection in General
Cranial Deformation
Cranial Vault Indices
Cranial Arcs
Cranial Capacity
Thickness of Left Parietal above Temporo-parietal Suture Minimum Frontal Diameter Facial Index
Mean Orbital Index
CONTENTS vii
Nasal Index
95
Palatal Index .
96
Alveolar Index
Angles Relating to Prognathism
97
Foramen Magnum
Lower Jaw
Frontal Region
99
Temporal Region
100
Occipital Region
100
Sutures
101
Parietal Foramina
102
Retro-mastoid Foramina
103
Facial Portion
103
Teeth
107
Palate
110
Skull Base
110
Mandible
113
Pathological Features
114
Summary of Measurements and Observations upon the Crania 115
The Bones in General
121
Fem ur
122
Tibia
126
Humerus
128
Radius
129
Ulna
130
Pelvis
130
Pathology
130
General Summary of Observations
133
CONCLUSION
Period of Occupation of the Site
135
Relation of the Madisonville Culture to that of Surrounding Tribes
135
Physical Relation of the Inhabitants to the Neighboring People
. . 137
96
97
98
98
Sagittal Region
103
Mastoids
Fibula
128
INDIAN VILLAGE SITE AND CEMETERY NEAR MADISONVILLE, OHIO
THE DISCOVERY OF THE SITE AND HISTORY OF THE EXPLORATIONS
The Discovery. The discoverer of the important Indian village Site and cemetery near Madisonville, Ohio, was Dr. Charles L. Metz, a resident of Madisonville, physician by profession, archae- ologist by avocation.
Prior to his explorations of the site, Dr. Metz published a paper on the prehistoric monuments of the Little Miami Valley in which The described and located on a chart the principal earthworks and mounds in Columbia, Anderson, and Spencer townships, near the Little Miami River.1 Group A of Dr. Metz's classification in- cludes the site of the prehistoric cemetery and the neighboring monuments. He describes it as follows: ?
Group A is situated partly in section 9, and partly in section 15, Columbia township, Hamilton County, Ohio, one mile west of Plainville station on the Little Miami Railroad, and on the second bottom or plateau of the Little Miami River on a narrow sandy ridge of reddish color.
This ridge has an elevation, averaging from 10 to 25 feet above the general level of the plateau on which it is situated. It lies between the Wooster Turn- pike and the Little Miami Railroad and River, elevated about 200 feet above the latter. On this ridge the principal work of this group is situated.
Commencing at the east end of the ridge, and in a wood known as " Stites Grove " we find an earthwork consisting of a circle, central tumulus, and an oval-shaped tumulus impinging on the outer southeast edge of the circle.'
West and to the south of this tumulus, and on the same continuous sand ridge mentioned above, are four or five elevations or tumuli with an average height of three to four feet, being from two to three hundred feet apart. The ridge is here under cultivation; numbers of relics, flint chips, and broken bowlders are ploughed up on this ridge.
1 Charles L. Mets, M.D., The Prehistoric Monuments of the Little Miami Valley, Journal of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History, vol. i, no. 3, October, 1878, p. 119 et seq. " Op. cit., loc. cit.
' Here Dr. Mets quotes the description and account of the excavation of this work by Florien Giauque, The Mound Builders, Harvest Home Magazine, August, 1876.
1
2
INDIAN VILLAGE SITE AND CEMETERY
Northwest of these tumuli, and on the general level of the plateau, one- fourth mile distant, is a mound which has a circumference at the base of 200 feet, and an elevation of 7 feet; it is as yet unexplored, but cultivated annually.
Four hundred yards to the northeast of this mound, and at the junction of the Wooster and Madison turnpikes, can yet be traced a circular work, which has a circumference of 600 feet.
Continuing on to the southwestward of the small tumuli and along the previously described sand ridge, we come to what is known as the " Pottery Field." Here the ridge slopes gently to the south and southeast, with an elevation of from 60 to 80 feet above the level of the Little Miami River. This field is a plateau of about four acres in extent, sloping back to the higher ground. On this plateau fragments of pottery are found in great abundance. Flint chips, arrowpoints, broken bowlders, burnt limestone, and shells of the freshwater mussels (Unio) are found all over the surface. Human remains have been found in the adjoining ravines, and on the slopes; the graves were isolated and shallow, and the method of burial was not uniform. Bones of various wild animals are also found.
Two hundred yards north of the pottery field are several small tumuli; the largest has a circumference at base of about 100 feet, height 5} feet; this mound has been dug into, but not yet explored. The pottery field and also the tumulus are situated in section 9, Columbia township, in what is known as Ferris Woods, in Still Home Hollow.
The pottery field above described was the site of the cemetery later discovered by Dr. Metz. The circumstances of the discovery are as follows. During the fall and winter of 1878-79, Dr. Metz explored several of the mounds of Group A, in the vicinity of the cemetery site.1
During the progress of the work on this mound [5, Group A] the laborer, employed by Dr. Metz, had been prospecting by digging holes in the sur- rounding forest, until finally, on the 20th of March, in the southwestern sec- tion of the plateau, he came upon a human skeleton at the depth of about two feet; these remains were, however, so much decayed that they could be preserved only in fragments. This was the initiatory step toward a most im- portant archaeological discovery, as further investigation has revealed the interesting fact that the entire plateau is the site of an ancient cemetery, from which have since been exhumed upward of four hundred skeletons of a pre- historic people, accompanied by numerous evidences of their handiwork, in the shape of flint and stone implements, pipes, pottery ware, charred matting and corn, tools and ornaments of bone, shell, and copper, some of which are believed to be unique, all indicating an industrious people, who lived in large communities, and obtained their support by cultivating the soil, as well as by fishing and hunting.ª
1 Charles F. Low, Archaeological Explorations near Madisonville, Ohio, Journal of the Cin- cinnati Society of Natural History, vol. iii, no. 1, April, 1880, p. 40 et seq. (Gives an account of the excavation of the mounds. See also American Naturalist, May, 1879, p. 328.)
' Op. cit., p. 43.
3 .
NEAR MADISONVILLE, OHIO
The above account corresponds accurately with the data in Dr. Metz's field notes, in which the following entries relative to the discovery occur: 1
March 16, 1879. Britten [the laborer] began digging trenches 4 ft. square and 3 ft. deep and 200 ft. apart, beginning at the Spice Bush Mound (No. 5), and extending in a southwestern direction to the point of the second plain. . ..
March 20. Britten dug 3 pits today, the last one on the southwestern point of the plateau. Just before quitting work he found a skeleton at the depth of 2 ft.
A brief sketch of the discovery was contributed also to Short's The North Americans of Antiquity, published in 1879. This ac- count is quoted by Low as follows: ?
This cemetery, which is distant about one and one-half miles southeast from Madisonville, occupies the western extremity of a plateau overlooking the Little Miami River, and situated from eighty to one hundred feet above the water-line. It is bounded on the south by the river " bottom," on the north and west by a deep ravine, through which flows a small stream known a& Whiskey Run; on the east the plateau slopes gradually up to the general level of the surrounding country, of which it is in fact a continuation or spur, its character of an elevated plateau being derived from its position between the eroded river valley and the deep ravine above referred to. The precipitous but well wooded bluff which forms the southern limit of this plateau extends eastward, facing the river, for perhaps half a mile; and distributed along its edge are a number of mounds and other earthworks; at its base are the Cincin- mati and Eastern and Little Miami Railways, the nearest station being Batavia Junction, distant about half a mile east of the cemetery. The original forest & till covers the site of the cemetery, and measurements of some of the principal trees are recorded by Dr. Metz. The locality has long been known to local, Collectors and others interested in archaeological matters as the " Pottery Field," so called on account of the numerous fragments of earthenware strewn Over the surface; and it was until recently supposed to be a place where the manufacture of pottery had been carried on by the ancient inhabitants of the valley, the fragments being considered the debris. A few scattered human remains had also been found in the adjoining ravines, but it was not until some time in March, 1879, that its true character and extent as a cemetery were brought to light.
Excavations by Dr. Charles L. Metz. The excavation of the Madisonville cemetery was begun by Dr. Metz on March 20,
1 Charles L. Mets, Superintendent of Explorations, Field Notes, 1878-1888, Archaeological Explorations by the Literary and Scientific Society of Madisonville, O. (Ms. book I, p. 4.) These notes are deposited in the Peabody Museum.
" Op. cit., p. 43 et seq. quoting, J. T. Short, North Americans of Antiquity. New York, 1879, . pp. 524-525.
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4
INDIAN VILLAGE SITE AND CEMETERY
1879. The point at which his laborer came upon the cemetery was at the southwestern corner of the plateau bounded on the west by the valley of the little stream called Whiskey Run, and on the south by the bottom lands of the Little Miami River. From this point, Dr. Metz began to trench eastward along the edge of the plateau and his labors were quickly rewarded by the finding of numerous and thickly, grouped burials. On the first of April the Madisonville Literary and Historical Society took charge of the work, with Dr. Metz as superintendent of excavations. Successful explorations were conducted on the southwestern slope until June 23, when in accordance with instructions from the society, work was begun on the Stites property known as " Spice Bush Woods." This tract of land was on the eastern portion of the same plateau on which the cemetery was located. During the next two weeks Mound 8 in the Spice Bush Woods was explored and four hut circles were trenched. Further excavations yielded but meager results; and on the 7th of July work was resumed in the old trenches of the cemetery on the Ferris property, and car- ried on steadily with abundant results up to the end of the year. During this year's work 360 skeletons were exhumed and 176 cache- pits explored; only 31 of these burials and 16 of the cache-pits are plotted upon the plan (plate 30). About 140 earthenware pots and many other specimens were discovered. Toward the end of the year, Dr. Metz inaugurated the system of dividing the areas to be explored into blocks approximately 40 feet square. The boundaries of the blocks were usually determined by trees en- closing roughly square or rectangular spaces, and the burials were located with reference to one or other of these corner trees or other prominent trees within the blocks. All of the excavations prior to the inception of this system were lumped together into one large block. As early as April 12 of the first season, the ground had been staked off by Mr. Low and the principal features sketched. As the excavations in the successive blocks progressed, it is presumed that the burials were plotted on maps, but these maps are not in the possession of the Peabody Museum, nor has the present writer been able to consult them.
Throughout the succeeding year (1880) excavations were con- tinued in the cemetery up to the 18th of December, when the ex- ploration of Block 12 was completed, the local society having
5
NEAR MADISONVILLE, OHIO
been aided by an appropriation from the Cincinnati Society of Natural History. During this year 239 skeletons were exhumed, 170 cache-pits examined, and over 75 earthenware pots recovered. Such of the burials and cache-pits as could be plotted with a fair degree of accuracy are shown in the plan (plate 30, n). A good deal of work was also done in two kitchen-middens discovered at the heads of ravines, one on the western slope of the plateau, the other on the western slope of the gully which divides the southern portion of the plateau, running north from its edge.
Dr. Metz's work, in 1881, was commenced on the second of March and continued to August 13, when the entries in his field note-book leave off. Block 17 was completed and 58 skeletons and some 84 cache-pits were discovered.
Professor F. W. Putnam visited the site in July of this year and again in September, at which time he made arrangements with the Madisonville Literary and Scientific Society, by which the Pea- body Museum, by paying a portion of the expenses of exploration, would receive its share of all that was obtained as the work of ex- cavation progressed. Work was continued by Dr. Metz during the fall, and in February, 1882, Professor Putnam wrote in his report on the Museum:
We have already received the first instalment of the material obtained since the cooperation of the Museum, and information that a second lot has been forwarded to the Museum. Our connection with this work has also re- sulted in the presentation of many specimens by those who have heretofore sustained the principal cost of the explorations, as will be seen by a reference to the list of additions over the names of Messrs. C. F. Low, P. P. Lane, C. L. Metz, and E. A. Conkling.1
Excavations by Professor F. W. Putnam. Professor Putnam again visited the cemetery from May 2 to May 16, 1882, during which time the " Putnam Block " was excavated for the Museum. There is deposited in the Museum a small sketch map of this block, apparently made by Dr. Metz, and the note-book in which Professor Putnam recorded the excavations. This block yielded 8 skeletons and several cache-pits and was located near the eastern line of the Ferris property (plate 30, 1). During this visit four of the large hut circles on the Stites property northeast of Ferris Wood were explored also.
1 Peabody Mussum Reports, vol. iii, p. 67.
6
INDIAN VILLAGE SITE AND CEMETERY
Excavations were not carried on in the cemetery except sporadi- cally for some time after Professor Putnam's visit, since he and Dr. Metz began explorations elsewhere in Ohio which continued over a period of several years. In 1891, when Professor Putnam was Chief of the Anthropological Department of the Chicago Exposi- tion, work was again resumed at the Madisonville site under the charge of Dr. Metz, with Harlan I. Smith as assistant, and Block M was excavated on the Stites property for this Department. Early in 1897 the Museum received notice from Dr. Metz that
Miss Phebe Ferris of Madisonville had bequeuthed to the Museum about twenty-five acres of land, on which is situated a large part of the ancient Indian cemetery where, in connection with Dr. Metz, since 1881, the Curator has carried on extensive explorations, and from which place a considerable col- lection has been made and exhibited in the Museum. This bequest was con- firmed by & notice from the executor of Miss Ferris' will. It was known that Miss Ferris was much interested in the explorations on her farm to which she always gave her consent and kindly aid; and it was her expressed desire that the Museum should have the right to continue the work, and that after the explorations were completed the land should be used as a public park, thus marking the site of the ancient village and cemetery.1
As it was deemed desirable for the Museum to carry on the work of exploration during that year, R. B. Dixon and J. R. Swanton, with Ingersoll Bowditch of the class of 1897, assisted by the cooperation of Dr. Metz, explored a portion of the ground. Mr. Bowditch made a survey and plan of the site which forms the basis of the final plan (plate 30).
Excavations by J. R. Swanton. The account of the excavations conducted in 1897 is derived from the report of J. R. Swanton, his field notes and map, all of which are in the archives of the Museum. Work was carried on from July 27 to October 20.
Mr. Swanton says in his report:
The work was under the general supervision of Dr. C. L. Metz, and under the more immediate charge of Mr. R. B. Dixon and myself, Mr. Dixon taking charge during the first five weeks and myself during the remainder of the time. Mr. Ingersoll Bowditch assisted in the work throughout and executed surveys of the bequest to the Museum and the location of the Indian burial place upon it.
The general location of the Madisonville cemetery is well known to stu- dents. . . . The hilltop on which it is situated sinks south to the lower bottom lands of the Little Miami River. On the west it is bounded by a small
1 Thirty-first Report of the Peabody Museum, p. 10.
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PEABODY MUSEUM PAPERS
VOL. VIII, PLATE 1
POST MOLE
N CARTH
POTTERY
SPIRE PLAGE
CACHE PITS
MADISONVILLE SITE
Portions of Trenches II and III, showing skeletons and positions of pottery vessels found With them, also the distribution of cache-pits, hearths and post-holes. This area is indi- Cted on plate 30 by the rectangle enclosed by broken lines.
1
7
NEAR MADISONVILLE, OHIO
steep-sided stream known as Whiskey Run and on the other two sides by less considerable declivities. The extreme eastern portion extends beyond the Museum lot into the Stites estate, but this together with the southern part of the cemetery included in the lot itself has already been explored. Our ex- plorations this summer were consequently the western part of the hilltop toward Whiskey Run. . . . Our trench lines were run bearing N. 58°E. and stakes were driven every ten feet from which to locate the articles discovered. Five trenches were run in all, four of them of the regulation forty feet width and one of twenty feet. The length was determined at one end by the boun- daries of previous explorations, at the other by a straight line two hundred feet from the lower line of Trench I which extended to the edge of the hill. Trenches I, II, and half of III were extended to this line but work had to be discontinued before Trenches IV, V, and the second half of III were carried 80 far.
The soil of this hill was composed of three strata, . First came black forest mould two to three feet thick at the edge of the hill and decreasing slowly to one foot and a half or a foot at the upper end of the trenches. Be- neath this was four or five feet of hard yellow clay, and underlying all at a depth of perhaps six feet a very deep deposit of sand. On the Stites estate much of the hill had been removed for this sand.
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