USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Madisonville > Indian Village Site and Cemetery Near Madisonville, Ohio > Part 2
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Trench I yielded 67 burials, 71 cache-pits, 7 pots; Trench II, 51 burials, 50 cache-pits, 4 pots; Trench III, 66 burials, 21 cache- pits, 11 pots; Trench IV, 38 burials, 31 cache-pits, 18 pots; Trench V, 3 burials, 4 cache-pits. The total number of skeletons excavated during the season was 230. One hundred and seventy- seven cache-pits and 13 fire places were explored; 42 pots were found. Plate 1 is a copy of a part of Mr. Swanton's plan showing in detail the position of burials and the distribution of cache- pits. The area illustrated is indicated on plate 30 by the rec- tangle enclosed by broken lines in Trenches II and III.
Excavations by R. E. Merwin. The next exploration of the site was conducted in 1907 by R. E. Merwin, Hemenway Fellow in the Museum, assisted by Irwin Hayden, also Hemenway Fel- low. The work continued from July 6 to November 7, 1907. The results of this season's excavations may be summarized from Mr. Merwin's report, maps, and field notes.
Mr. Merwin's Trench A included the tract of land lying be- tween Trench I of the 1897 excavations and the northwestern edge of the plateau as delimited by the banks of the creek, Whis- key Run.
The side of this trench adjoining the previously explored territory is com- paratively regular, but the other side is very irregular, due to the meander-
8
INDIAN VILLAGE SITE AND CEMETERY
ings of the ravine bank. In size it is 150 feet long, at both ends practically 10 feet wide, its greatest width at the center being approximately 100 feet. The depth necessary to carry the trench to hard-pan varied from 1 to 2 feet. This trench yielded but 4 skeletons, 15 cache-pits and one hearth. It marks the northern boundary of the cemetery.
Trench B extended northwest from the head of the ravine which divides the southern part of the plateau into east and west portions. The southern and western sides of this trench adjoined land previously explored by Dr. Metz.
Explorations were started in the southeast end of the trench so that the work might be carried forward to a better advantage, for there is a decided elevation in the ground to the northwest. A fifty foot trench was laid out, but owing to the irregularity of the previously explored ground, its width varied from 35 to 75 feet. Its length was 130 feet.
Sixty skeletons were found in this trench. Forty cache-pits and two hearths were explored.
After carrying Trench B forward about 130 feet, it was thought best to start another trench parallel and adjacent to it. But opening the trench in line with the southeast end of Trench B, it was found that former explorations had not been carried this far. So instead of running a trench to the north- west as in the case of Trench B, one was run in an opposite direction, following along a narrow ravine now used as a road. This made an irregular shaped trench; and it was also necessary to vary the width of it in order to take in all the unexplored territory adjoining it. This trench was extended for a distance of 110 feet, the width varying from 30 to 50 feet.
There were found in Trench C, 21 skeletons and 31 cache-pits. A portion of this trench was occupied by a large kitchen-midden which had been partially explored by Dr. Metz in earlier years.
The total finds of the season's work were 85 skeletons, 32 pots, 88 cache-pits, and 3 hearths or fire places.
In the following year (1908) Mr. Merwin excavated in the site of the cemetery from April 1 until September 15, opening three trenches. The portion explored in 1908 was adjacent to that ex- cavated in the latter portion of the season of 1907 (see plate 30).
Trench D was a continuation of Trench C northward, and ad- joined Trench B on the west.
As can be seen by the map, this trench had a width of 80 feet, and in general was 180 feet long, with an irregular strip on the south side.
This trench yielded 101 skeletons and 147 cache-pits.
PEABODY MUSEUM PAPERS
VOL. VIII, PLATE 2
è
POTTERY
CACHE PITS
MADISONVILLE SITE
The greater part of Trench D, showing skeletons and the positions of pottery vessels found with them, also the distribution of cache-pits. This area is shown on plate 30 by the rectangle enclosed by broken lines.
1
9
NEAR MADISONVILLE, OHIO
Trench E was merely a continuation of Trench B of the explorations of 1907. . It varied in width from 35 to 55 feet and extended toward the bluff of the ravine, a distance of 170 feet. As can be seen on the map of this trench the finds were very good in the southern portion, but the northern part is practically devoid of skeletons or cache-pits.
The reason for the barrenness of this portion of the trench is, as can be seen from the general map, because this tract had already been explored. There were 38 skeletons and 41 cache-pits found in this trench.
Trench F was a continuation of Trench D.
Perhaps one of the most striking things in connection with its exploration was the depth at which some of the skeletons were found. Many of them were from 3 ft. 6 in. to 4 ft. below the surface and extended 2 ft. 6 in. to 3 ft. in- to the hard-pan.
There were 37 skeletons and 59 cache-pits found in this trench.
The total number of skeletons exhumed in the season was 176 and 247 cache-pits and 3 hearths were explored.
Excavations by B. W. Merwin. In 1911 B. W. Merwin, brother of R. E. Merwin, conducted explorations for the Museum in the northeastern portion of the tract. The data in regard to his excavations are derived from his field notes and maps.
Trench G was east of Trench E and north of Trench F and ex- tended N. 76° E. As laid out, the block was 290 feet long and 30 feet wide. Beginning at the west end the trench was excavated 90 feet eastward and a trial trench was dug at its eastern ex- tremity. This trench yielded only 3 skeletons and 7 cache-pits and seems to have marked the northeastern limit of the cemetery.
Trench H ran parallel with Trench G. Its southeastern corner was 200 feet south of the corresponding corner of Trench G. Trench H was 150 feet long and 50 feet wide; it yielded 43 skele- tons and 72 cache-pits.
Trench I was 80 feet square and ran parallel and adjacent to Trench H on the south. Trench I contained 26 skeletons, 52 cache-pits, and 23 post-holes.
Trench J was a plot 30 feet by 50 feet laid off north of the east- ern portion of Trench H and adjacent to it, and east of Trench I. Several trial trenches were dug in this tract and two cache-pits were discovered.
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INDIAN VILLAGE SITE AND CEMETERY
Trench K was an irregular tract situated on a southern point of the plateau. In this trench were found 12 skeletons and 13 cache-pits.
In addition to the above, Mr. Merwin dug several trial trenches in the tract north of Trench G and south of the plateau edge, and was able to establish the fact that the cemetery did not cover this northern portion of the plateau. Six other trial trenches, dug north of Whiskey Run toward the eastern boundary of the Museum tract gave negative results.
THE BURIALS
Depth of Interments. The depth of the burials varied in the different parts of the cemetery and in individual cases. Usually the graves were dug in the soft leaf mould overlying the hard yellow clay, and did not extend down into the latter. Conse- quently, where the leaf mould lay thick, the depth of the inter- ments tended to be greater, and where the leaf mould was thin, the graves were likely to be shallow. Naturally, in certain places denudation of the surface soil took place, so that burials were ex- posed or their original depth decreased. Mr. Swanton says:
The skeletons were usually buried in the lower part of the black mould or the upper part of the hard-pan. The depth was eighteen to twenty-four inches.
Tabulation of the depth of interment of 151 burials (all the skeletons excavated by Dr. Metz in 1879 in which depth was re- corded) gives the following result:
Less than
Depth
12 in. 12-18 in. 19-24 in.
25-36 in. 37-48 in. 4 ft.
Number of burials. 8 53
77 12 0
1
Per cent. 5.3 35.1 51.0 8.0 0.0 0.6
This random sample agrees well enough with Mr. Swanton's statement. R. E. Merwin also says:
A few were found in the hard-pan, but for the most part they were resting directly upon the hard-pan or above it in the black soil.
Mr. Merwin notes, however, that in Trench F some of the burials were of unusual depth:
Many of them were 3 ft. 6 in. to 4 ft. below the surface and extended 2 ft. 6 in. to 3 ft. into the hard-pan. Of 37 burials in this trench, 6, or 16.2 per cent,
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NEAR MADISONVILLE, OHIO
were at a depth of more than 3 feet from the highest point of the skull to the surface; 17, or 46 per cent, were between 25 in. and 36 in .; 8, or 21.6 per cent, were between 19 in. and 24 in .; 6, or 16.2 per cent, from 12 in. to 18 in.
Forms of Burial. The following table shows the distribution of forms of burial for 650 skeletons exhumed by Dr. Metz:
Contracted
Horizontal
Sitting
Collective and disturbed
Total
Number
38
491
32
89
650
Per cent.
5.8
75.6
4.9
13.7
100.00
Of 231 skeletons found by Mr. Swanton, 164, or 71 per cent, were extended or horizontal burials; 66, or 28.6 per cent, were col- lective or disturbed burials; there was but one contracted burial. He says in his report:
The position was invariably full length, except in the cache-pits. Not in- frequently a skull with a small pile of long bones would be found beside a regular full length burial. [See plate 3, b.] ·
Horizontal or Extended Burials. More than 75 per cent of all the burials in the Madisonville cemetery were horizontal or ex- tended burials. In addition to these a large number of the dis- turbed or " bunched " burials may have been originally extended burials which had been moved to make room for later interments. In most cases the bodies were laid flat upon their backs, with the faces either upward or turned to one side. The arms were usually extended at the sides (plates 3, a, b and 4, b).
Contracted Burials. Dr. Metz records 38, or 6.3 per cent, of his burials as contracted or "in the doubled-up position." Con- tracted burials seem to have been confined to the southern portion of the cemetery excavated by Dr. Metz, since the subsequent excavators found them only in cases where bodies had been buried in cache-pits and were necessarily flexed.
Burials in Sitting Posture. These were also confined to that portion of the cemetery which Dr. Metz explored. He records 32, or 5 per cent of the skeletons exhumed by him. Of these, all but one were found during the excavations of the first season, and in the first few weeks of the work. Burials in the sitting posture seem, therefore, to have been confined to the extreme south- western portion of the cemetery.
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INDIAN VILLAGE SITE AND CEMETERY.
Collective and Disturbed Burials. The collective burials found seem to have been secondary in character. In certain places a number of old burials may have been cleared away to make room for new ones and the disarticulated bones from the old graves buried in a common pit. Dr. Metz records the following find on April 12, 1879:
A circular excavation, 3} feet in diameter, was made, and from it were taken twenty-two skeletons. The bottom of this pit was paved with the river mussel shells (Unio); over them were the bones of the lower extremities and trunks, and above these the skulls.
Another more typical collective burial, consisting of one articu- lated skeleton and a miscellaneous heap of bones of several in- dividuals, was found by Dr. Metz, September 24, 1879:
An adult female with small foetal bones in pelvic region, and a confused mass of bones about her lower extremities, among which were five crania, two facing upwards and three downwards.
Finds analogous to the above are reported by all of the exca- vators (see plate 3). Very commonly odd portions of a disturbed burial were found in a subsequent interment.
In some instances burials were disturbed in order to make room for cache-pits. Dr. Metz on September 3, 1880, reports:
Block 10, skeleton 1, head east, adult male; arms flexed on the humeri. The body was disarticulated at the second lumbar vertebra; the lower ex- tremities together with the pelvis were buried separately, probably to make way for cache-pit 1 of this block.
R. E. Merwin makes the following note on skeleton 37 in Trench D:
Adult; ash-pit 71 had been dug through this skeleton, and the portion in the way of the pit had been removed; the parts removed were the right femur, right pelvic bone, sacrum, some of the lower right ribs, right ulna and radius, and about two inches of the distal end of the right humerus, and all of the right finger bones.
Burials disturbed by the digging of cache-pits are not infrequently reported throughout the excavations (see plate 4, a, d).
Burials in Cache-pits. In rare instances bodies were buried in the cache-pits. The first of these burials was recorded by Dr. Metz on January 20, 1880:
Skeleton 3. Block 3, in the bottom of above pit (cache-pit 2), lying on back, face up, head northwest, legs sharply flexed on thighs. The portion of
PEABODY MUSEUM PAPERS
VOL. VIII, PLATE 3
MADISONVILLE SITE a, Skeleton 19, Trench IV, showing a common method of burial. A tobacco pipe and food vessel were found near the skull; b, Skeletons 1-4, Trench IV, an extended burial and a collective burial of the skulls and principal bones of three individuals; c, Collective burial, skeletons 34, 35, Trench H; d, Collective burial, skeletons 19-25, Trench H.
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NEAR MADISONVILLE, OHIO
the pit surrounding the skeleton and below the layer of charcoal was walled, but not floored, with flat limestones, 10 to 12 inches square, and all distinctly showing the action of fire, having been burnt, however, before being placed in their present position, as the walls and floor of the pit do not show any traces of having been burnt.
Cache-pit 8 in Block 14 contained a calvaria unaccompanied by any other portion of the skeleton.
In Mr. Swanton's excavations, skeletons II, 4, III, 19, and IV, 7 and 8 were buried in cache-pits.
Skeleton III, 19 lay in a rather confused heap near the bottom of cache-pit III, 5. The body seems to have been doubled up, heels on the thighs and the knees drawn up toward the chest. The skull was not in its proper position but lay on the right side. Depth of skeleton, 5 ft. 3 in. Under it was a large stone, and above three others, one a grindstone.
In Mr. Merwin's.report on Trench B, he says:
Skeleton 14 was that of an adult buried dorsal side up, in the bottom of cache-pit 15. The walls of the pit had been slightly widened at the bottom to make room for the head and feet. Above the skeleton were the usual contents to be found in cache-pits of this trench.
In regard to the cache-pits of Trench C, he says:
Another noticeable feature was the presence of human bones, and oft- times of entire skeletons, in the pits. In 7 pits there were found human bones - lower jaw, portions of skull, finger and toe bones, etc. In three pits there were bunches of human bones. It seems very probable that when digging a cache-pit a skeleton had been disturbed and the bones placed in a pile over the pit, while that portion of the skeleton not disturbed by the pit was left in its original position.
In Trench E, skeleton 9 was buried in the bottom of cache-pit 1, and above it and separated from it by a stratum of black earth, two to four inches in thickness, were five disarticulated skeletons. Skeleton 24 of this trench was buried in a sitting posture in cache- pit 14.
Burials over cache-pits were also common and in many cases portions of the skeletons above the cache-pit had sunk down into the pit, owing to the settling of the earth underneath.
Anomalous Burials. Writing of a family group of six skeletons (Block 6, 25-30), Dr. Metz says:
The earth above these skeletons was baked hard and of a brick red color in several places with layers of ashes. The leaf mould here was 6 inches deep against 16 inches elsewhere.
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INDIAN VILLAGE SITE AND CEMETERY
Mr. Swanton records a stratum of burnt clay two inches thick, eight inches above skeleton II, 7, and extending all over the body. These burnt areas may well have been fire places.
In Block 12 of Dr. Metz's excavations the head of skeleton 582 rested on a large limestone. Another large limestone was placed over the chest, and one over the thighs just above the knees. The stones showed evidence of having been exposed to the action of fire. Skeletons with the heads pillowed on large flat limestones which had been exposed to the action of fire were occasionally found.
In Trench F the grave of skeleton 10 had been paved with lime- stone slabs, and both at the head and at the foot of the grave two slabs had been set up on end. On plate 4, a, is shown a grave lined with limestone slabs through which a cache-pit has been dug.
In Trench III, skeletons 33, 35, 36 were laid on blocks of lime- stone and were also covered with them.
Grouping of Burials. Often a number of burials were arranged in a group in a way that would seem to indicate either simulta- neous burial of a number of individuals, or, perhaps, a species of division into family lots.
The most common form of grouping consisted in placing hori- zontal burials side by side and close together, with the heads laid in the same direction. Skeletons 3, 4, and 5 of Block 15 were an adult male in a horizontal position, an adult female parallel and close to the male, and a child of about two years buried in extended posture between the legs of the female with his head resting on the pelvis of the mother. In Block 11, skeleton 25, that of a child, was similarly buried between the legs of an adult female with his head resting on her pelvis. Two feet to the north were the skele- tons of three children, one in a horizontal position and the other two in disarticulated heaps on either side of the lower extremities of the extended burial. Fourteen inches to the south of the left ilium of the central adult female burial of the group, was a single adult detached cranium. Another isolated cranium was found fourteen inches to the south of the left tibia of the central burial. North of this same burial and 20 inches from the lower extremi- ties was a heap of bones sufficient to make up two adult skeletons and, as Dr. Metz says: "seemingly the bones of the skeletons
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PEABODY MUSEUM PAPERS
VOL. VIII, PLATE 4
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C
MADISONVILLE SITE
a, Skeleton 10, Trench F. The grave was originally lined with limestone slabs. A cache- pit was subsequently dug through the grave; b, Extended burial; c. Grouped burial, skeletons 8-10, Trench B; d, Skeleton 82, Trench D, an extended burial through which a cache-pit has been dug.
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NEAR MADISONVILLE, OHIO
belonging to the detached crania." Apparently in this instance one family group had been disturbed in order to make room for the burial of another.
In Block 6 skeletons 25-30 were apparently a family group. They were all horizontal burials on the same level and covered with a layer of baked earth. The adult male was buried under- neath the adult female and the children whose ages ranged from 3 to 5 years were on the same level as the mother, but further to the east.
Not infrequently husband and wife were buried side by side or in the same grave, one above the other. An instance of the latter case was found in Block 11 where skeleton 547, an adult male, was buried head to the north, face up, with the tibiae flexed at right angles to the body. An adult female skeleton was buried in a horizontal position with the cranium resting on the thorax of the male.
Block 16 presented an interesting group consisting of a male adult buried in the horizontal position and three immature per- sons, each buried in the contracted posture on his back, the three superimposed in one grave. This same block included a group in which two adult skeletons, sex not stated, were buried in a con- tracted position on the lower extremities of an adult male lying in a horizontal position. A good example of a grouped burial is illus- trated in plate 4, c.
Orientation of Burials. The following table shows the direction in which the head was laid in 453 burials of which the orientation was recorded by Dr. Metz:
N.
S.
E.
W.
NE.
SE.
NW.
8W.
Total
Number 35
139
122
13
37
80
15
12
453
Per cent
7.7
30.6
26.9
2.8
8.1
17.6
3.3
2.6
100.00
It will be observed from the above that the bodies were laid in all directions, but prevailingly with heads toward the south, the east, and the southeast. Three hundred and forty-one, or 75.2 per cent, of 453 burials were orientated in this general direction. Mr. Swanton says in his report:
The bodies were laid with the heads in all directions. The great majority have their heads bearing east, while south seems to be the next most popular direction.
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INDIAN VILLAGE SITE AND CEMETERY
The following table summarizes the orientation of Mr. Swanton's burials:
N.
8. E.
W.
NE.
NW.
SW.
Total
Number 2
4
21
0
62
SE. 55
11
14
169
Per cent
1.2
2.4
12.4
0.0
36.7
32.5
6.5
8.2
100.00
The apparent result seems superficially not to agree with that obtained by Dr. Metz since the table shows very few burials with heads south and a larger number with heads northeast. This dif- ference, however, is probably due to the fact that Dr. Metz merely estimated his orientations, whereas Mr. Swanton and subsequent excavators took their bearings accurately with a compass. Con- sequently very few burials are recorded as due north and due south and none due west. On the other hand 12.4 per cent were due east.
Eighty-one and six-tenths per cent of the burials recorded by Mr. Swanton were orientated east, northeast, or southeast.
Objects Associated with the Burials. This section deals with the finds in the cemetery only in relation to the burials.
The following table shows the number of pots found by the principal excavators and recorded in the field notes deposited in the Peabody Museum. It also indicates the position of the pots with reference to the body, where found in association with burials, and mentioned by the investigators.
Number of pots
Head
Feet
Right side
Left side
Between knees
Dr. Mets
228
137
11
4
11
3
J. E. Swanton
46
26
0
5
4
3
R. E. Merwin
72
49
1
6
7
6
B. W. Merwin
7
7
0
0
0
0
F. W. Putnam
1
1
0
0
0
0
Total
354
219
12
15
22
12
Of 354 pots recorded to have been found by the excavators, their position, in relation to the body, is stated in 280 instances. Of the remainder practically all were found with skeletons, but in the first year of his excavations Dr. Metz frequently omitted to note the position of the pots in relation to the associated burials.
It will be observed that in the vast majority of cases the pots were found at the head, either above the vertex or to the left or right without apparent distinction.
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NEAR MADISONVILLE, OHIO
About 28 per cent of the entire number of burials recorded had pots associated with them, usually one pot to a burial. The pot- tery finds were more numerous by far in the southwestern portion of the cemetery excavated by Dr. Metz in 1879. In the north- western portion excavated by the Merwin brothers, pots and arti- facts of all kinds were rare.
The pots were buried with individuals of both sexes and of all ages without distinction. Mr. Swanton says:
As a rule one unio shell was found in each pot, seeming to indicate that it contained - if indeed it contained anything - something of a liquid nature. These pots were frequently such as had been broken around the rims before burial.
R. E. Merwin also states that an examination of the contents of the pots usually showed one or more unio shells and a few small fragments of animal bones. All of the investigators found occa- sional pots containing traces of red ocher.
It is perhaps worthy of note that on April 1, 1879, Dr. Metz found a pit containing four crania and four pots. One of these pots was inverted and rested on a skull.
Stone implements were frequently found in the burials. These included adze blades, grooveless axes, hammers, scrapers, arrow and spear points, chisels, knives, and perforated disks. Finds of stone implements in the burials seem to have been far more com- mon in the southwestern portion of the cemetery, first excavated by Dr. Metz, than in his later explorations and those of the sub- sequent excavators. The majority of the implements seem to have been found in the cache-pits and kitchen-middens, and in the leaf mould, rather than in the graves. Arrowpoints, groove- less axes and knives were the commonest implements found with the bodies. In several instances arrowpoints were found em- bedded in portions of the skeletons. On April 12, 1879, Dr. Metz found a collective burial consisting of 22 skeletons.
A sacrum belonging to one of these skeletons had imbedded in the anterior surface near the upper border a flint arrowhead, which in order to reach that position in the living body must have passed through the abdominal walls and intestines in an oblique direction, from above downwards and to the right.
On July 10 of the same year the skeleton of an adult was ex- humed, one of the dorsal vertebrae of which had a flint arrow-
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