USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Madisonville > Indian Village Site and Cemetery Near Madisonville, Ohio > Part 31
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To the west of the center of the mound and beneath the layer of stones, an altar, 4 feet long and 2 feet wide, was found. Its basin was 4 inches deep, with sloping sides 10 inches wide (num- ber 1 of figures 38 and 39). The altar was filled with fine sand covered with coarse gravel. Its floor was burned to a depth of 5 inches. Nine feet east of the altar, at a lower level, a nearly circular basin or altar was uncovered (number 2), the bowl-shaped cavity of which was 8 inches deep, and 3 feet across at the top. Its floor was burned to a depth of 5 inches. The cavity was filled
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with a dark, very tenacious earth. No artifacts, with the excep- tion of the usual flint chips and potsherds scattered through the mound, were obtained. At the base of the mound numerous pits
FIGURE 38. Cross-section of Mound 9:
or post-holes, 12 to 24 inches deep, and 6 to 10 inches in diameter, were found.
Mound 10. This is situated just north of the small enclosure at the foot of the graded way. It was oblong in shape, about 3 feet high, and extended east and west approximately 40 feet.
A trench 18 feet wide was dug through its longest diameter. The mound was composed of sandy loam showing traces of charcoal throughout. At its center, and on a level with the plain, was found an ash-pit which was carefully explored. The contents were as follows, working downward: 7 inches of black ashes; 16 inches of gravel, sand, and ashes; and at the bottom, 4 inches of pure ashes. The diameter of the pit at its top was 6 feet; at its bottom, 16 inches; and its depth was 27 inches. Scattered throughout the ashes, sand, and gravel were animal bones, fragments of pottery, mica, and charcoal.
Mound 11. Within the great enclosure and about 300 feet northeast of mound 10 is situated this tumulus. Excavations showed it to be composed of sandy loam having a mottled ap- pearance. No traces of charcoal or ashes were discovered.
In the center, and at a depth of only 8 inches, a skeleton was unearthed in a horizontal position, head to the south. The right hand was placed over the pelvis, and contained a small copper adze blade [figure 44, c]. About 4 inches from the skull a mass of galena, weighing one pound and six ounces, was found. Three feet southeast of this skeleton lay the remains of a child in a doubled-up position; and 5 feet southwest of this, and 16 inches beneath the surface, was a second adult skeleton in a horizontal position with its head to the south. Near the left hip was a broken pottery vessel, and near by a flint knife. [This vessel is shown with outline restored in plate 22, d.]
Mound 12. This interesting earthwork, the larger of the two mounds in the elevated circle, was 52 feet in diameter, and some-
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what more than 5 feet high. After working through a stratum of clayey loam, 2} feet in depth, Dr. Metz came upon a horizontal pavement of flat river stones, 25 feet in diameter, having a cir-
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1, Altar; 2, Circular basin.
cular outline (2, figure 40). This was about 3 feet above the base of the mound. Dr. Metz's account is as follows:
This pavement was laid on a 3-inch stratum of sand. On removing the stones and sand, a circular stone wall was discovered, and within the enclosure
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STONES COVERING ALTARS
GRAVEL
FIGURE 39
Plan of Mound 9: 1, Altar; 2, Circular basin.
formed by this wall was a mass of round, drift-gravel pebbles ranging in size from a filbert to an orange. These pebbles covered an earth mound within the wall, which was 2 feet 4 inches in height, and had a base diameter of 12 feet. The earth composing this little mound was stratified, there being several
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alternate layers of dark earth and yellow clay, the latter being much the thicker. In the dark earth strata, traces of charcoal and ashes were seen.
The circular wall [see ground plan and cross-section, figures 40, 41] was 34 inches in height, 30 inches wide at its base, and 24 inches at its top. It rested on a 4-inch layer of coarse gravel which connected with the gravel surround- ing the central earth mound. The diameter of the enclosure within the wall was 21 feet.
Not far from the center of the small interior mound, and beneath the stratum of coarse gravel, was a 3-inch layer of fine sand which covered a small altar (8). The basin of the altar was 2 feet in length, 18 inches in width, and had a depth at the sides of 6 inches.
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FIGURE 40. Cross-section of Mound 12: 1, Clayey loam; 2, Layer earth and yellow clay; 6, Pebbles; 7, Sand; 8, Altar; 9, Cavity
Its cavity was 4 inches deep, and contained slightly burnt earth. The floor of the altar was burned to a depth of 3 inches, its entire thickness. Continuing, Dr. Metz says:
On removing the altar, a cavity filled with fine sand was discovered be- neath. The length of this cavity was 12 inches, width 10 inches. A single valve of a unio shell was found in the sand contained in the cavity. It was placed directly under the floor of the altar, and lay upon the sand. On re- moving the sand, the depth of the cavity was found to be 8 inches.
This cavity or basin [number 9 of the cross-section], was moulded in the clay upon which the altar rested. The imprints of the fingers of the ancient workmen were plainly visible upon its sides and bottom. Its form somewhat resembled the impression of a human foot clothed with a moccasin.
To the northwest of the altar at a distance of 30 inches was an irregular layer of dark, tenacious clay (10), having a depth of 4 inches, and extending several feet in width and length. It showed no evidence of having been burned .
The circular stone wall was built principally of large river stones with occasional large limestones interspersed, some of them being 12 inches in length and width, and 3 to 5 inches in thickness. A portion of this wall is shown in the photograph, figure 42. The
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spaces between the stones were packed with sand and gravel. The inner edge of the wall was perpendicular. The outer edge sloped inward gradually from its base to its top (4, figure 40). The wall formed nearly an exact circle, and was uniform throughout except on the southwest side, where it had been disturbed by two burials, at least one of which was probably intrusive.
From the inner side of the southern portion of the wall, a single layer of stones extended to the south corner of the altar. Above this row of stones, and supported by the layer of gravel extending under the small interior mound, was a second line of stones reaching to the edge of this inner mound. On the
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of stones; 3, Sand; 4, Circular wall; 5, Alternate layers of dark beneath altar; 10, Dark clay; 11, Clay.
southwest side of the wall, three courses of stones had been removed for a distance of 4 feet, and in the space thus formed, and on a stratum of fine sand, 26 inches below the surface, the flexed skeleton of an adult was found [figure 41, a], the bones of which were much decayed, and the skull in fragments.
On the west side, the wall was again interrupted. For a space of 7 feet, five courses of stone had been removed, and an adult skeleton [b] in a horizontal position resting on a bed of coarse gravel was unearthed. Near the knees lay portions of a large marine shell. The stones which had evidently been removed to make way for the two interments were not found.
Just outside the wall in the western portion of the mound were two skeletons lying side by side in a horizontal position, heads to the north. The one nearer the wall (c) was evidently an adult male; the other (d), a youth. At each hand of the former lay a copper spool-shaped ear-ornament. At the left hand of skeleton d, rested another copper ear-ornament, and at intervals along the right arm were several shell beads. At the right hand were a con- siderable number of shell beads, and near the pelvis a portion of a second ear-ornament. A large shell vessel, with its smaller end
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downward, rested near the head. Four canine teeth of the bear, perforated for attachment, were also found with this skeleton.
Continuing the excavations to the southward outside the wall, several additional burials were uncovered.
Skeleton e, of an adult, was found in a flexed position about 10 inches from the wall. It was badly decayed, and the skull was in fragments. An adult skeleton [f], 8 feet to the southeast, was also in a flexed position, 3 feet from
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g
FIGURE 41
Plan of Mound 12: a-i, Graves containing skeletons; 4, Circular wall; 5, Small interior mound; 6, Pebbles; 8, Altar; 10, Dark clay.
the surface. Skeleton g, of an adult, lay in a horizontal position, head to the northeast, on a pavement of flat stones, 7 feet long and 3 feet wide. A copper ear-ornament lay at each hand, and a copper blade [figure 44, a], at the right shoulder; at the neck and shoulder were many shell beads. An adult skeleton [h] in a flexed position, a few feet northeast of the latter, and 3 feet from the surface, was much decayed. No artifacts were found with it. Skeleton i, an adult, 4 feet to the south of the wall, at a depth of 2 feet, lay on a bed of coarse gravel, 4 inches in thickness. A plate of mica rested at the neck and shoulder.
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To the northeast of the wall at three different points, portions of skeletons were unearthed. At one place, a right femur and part of a pelvis, and at a distance of 4 feet a left femur and part of another pelvis were found. At a point 6 feet to the south was a single femur, unaccompanied by other bones.
With all the skeletons occupying a horizontal position, relics were recovered, and great care seems to have been taken in their interment, as they were placed either on a bed of sand, gravel, or flat stones. While with those that were interred in a doubled-up position, no relics were found, nor was there evidence of special care being exercised in their burial. We failed to discover a single potsherd or a flint chip in the entire mound.
The earth composing the greater part of the mound seems to have been taken from the surrounding plain. It was homogeneous throughout. Upon
FIGURE 42 Section of Mound 12 showing circular wall.
the slope of the tumulus were several stumps, one of which, an oak, measured 12 feet in circumference.
Mound 13. This is the smaller of the two mounds in the ele- vated circle. It was approximately 30 feet in diameter, and 2 feet high. Upon removing the earth, a circular pavement of flat river stones, 15 feet in diameter, was found. This rested on a layer of sand, 8 inches deep. The clay beneath the sand showed no evidence of having been disturbed.
Mound 14. This is the smallest and the most northern of the seven connected mounds within the great enclosure. It was ap-
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proximately 30 feet in diameter, and had been reduced to a height of but 2 feet. Only a portion of the surrounding wall remained, most of it having undoubtedly been destroyed by plowing. Near its center was unearthed a small square altar of burnt clay, 28 inches in diameter. The depth of its basin was 7 inches, and the slope of its sides, 9 inches. The stratum above the altar was clean gravel, having a thickness of 8 inches, upon which rested a 12 inch layer of soil. The basin of the altar was filled with yellow clay.
Mound 15. Upon the river bank, about 900 feet north of the great enclosure, is a mound, the greater part of which has been
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FIGURE 43
Chipped knife blades and a gorget, taken with others from a cache in Mound 15. (About 1/2.)
destroyed by the washing away of the bank during freshets. The dimensions of the remaining portion as given by Dr. Metz are as follows: height 6 feet, diameter 25 feet, length 65 feet. Its sur- face was originally paved with round pebbles which seem to have been carefully selected both as to size and color. They average a little larger than a goose egg, and are of a bluish shade. They were compactly laid, resembling in this respect the pebble pave- ments of modern streets. The center of the mound was composed largely of kitchen refuse to the height of about 3 feet, over which had been placed a 2-inch stratum of sand. This, in turn, had been covered with about 10 inches of hard dark earth. The re-
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maining portion was made up principally of clayey loam, and gravel. A few small hearths of river stones were found also.
Animal bones, potsherds, broken implements, flint flakes, pieces of mica, etc., were common. About twenty-five calcite gorgets (so-called) of the form shown in figure 43, c, several of which were broken, were taken from a cache in this mound. With them were seven thin, finely chipped blades, of the type figured in a, and one leaf-shaped blade, b, of the above figure. These
FIGURE 44
Copper blades from graves: a, With Skeleton 7, Mound 12; b, Grave 5, Burial Place e; c, With skeleton of child, Mound 11. (2/3.)
were found with pieces of worked antler, probably the remains of their handles.
Mounds to the West of Elevated Circle. The largest of these, Marriott mound 1, was opened in 1884 by Dr. Metz and Profes- sor Putnam, and an account of the exploration was published.1
At the time of the exploration the mound was 2 feet high, and 60 feet in diameter. Its height had been reduced by plowing, and the layer of stones which had covered the lower portion had been
1 F. W. Putnam, The Marriott Mound No. 1 and Its Contents, Reports of the Peabody Mu- seum of Am. Arch. and Eth., Vol. III, pp. 449-466.
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disturbed. Near its center was a rude altar or basin of clay which contained ashes, charcoal, burnt acorns, and pieces of burnt bones, some of which were probably fragments of implements. There were also several beads of shell, and other ornaments. Near the altar were two hearths or areas of burnt clay and stones, 8 to 10 inches in depth. Several bone implements, flaked knives, etc., were found in the ashes.
Near the center of the mound was a group of four graves, each outlined with flat limestones. The largest of these graves con- tained a skeleton lying at length, head to the northeast. The smallest contained a complete skull with under jaw. A hole ¿ inch in diameter had been bored through the occipital bone, near the margin of the foramen magnum. The position of the holes suggests that a cord, for the purpose of suspension, may have been passed through it and out of the great foramen. Two other small graves were nearby, each containing a skeleton out of natural order.
A plate of native copper, ear-ornaments of this metal, perforated teeth of the bear, two of them inlaid with a large pearl, many pearl beads, and various implements were found with the skeletons.
The construction of the mound, the forms of the graves and the artifacts, all indicate that this was probably contemporary with the other earthworks of the group.
Some 400 feet to the northeast of the above tumulus is Marriott mound 2, much reduced by cultivation. This proved of little interest. About the same distance to the southeast, and occupy- ing one of the points of the triangle formed by the three tumuli, is Cemetery mound, so-called because it is located in a private cemetery. This has never been explored. Still farther to the west are the remains of a small mound which has been destroyed.
ARTIFACTS IN GENERAL
Stone Implements. Comparatively few stone implements were found. A few dozen chipped flint knives of common forms, such as can be picked up on almost any site, several chipped flint scrapers, and a few grinding stones, hammer-stones, and anvils were obtained during the general digging. No chipped flint arrowpoints occurred, which is especially remarkable considering
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the hundreds found at the Madisonville site, only a few miles distant. There were no " snub-nose " scrapers, which were also common at Madisonville. By far the most abundant flint im- plement is the flaked knife, figure 10, a. Scores of these were recovered, usually from graves but many were found in general digging. Only three or four stone adze blades were collected. One of these accompanied an intrusive burial. The others were found under conditions which render it doubtful if they were left by the Earthwork Builders.
There were no grooved axes and but few of the grooveless variety; only two of the latter were recovered under conditions which
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FIGURE 45 Stone axe blades from post-holes: a, Mound 5; b, Mound 4. (1/2.)
render it certain that they belonged to the people under consider- ation. These are illustrated in figure 45, and are both from post- holes. One of them (a) is from mound 5, the other from mound 4.
Implements of copper seemed to be confined to adze blades, and awls or pins. Three of the former are shown in figure 44, all from graves.
Textile Fabrics. Numerous small fragments of twined-woven cloth, preserved by salts of copper, were adhering to a few ear- ornaments and other objects of this metal from certain graves. They all seem to be of the variety shown enlarged in figure 46, which was common over a wide area. Other types of twined and checker weaving, such as were taken from the Hopewell, Liberty,
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and other mound groups, were doubtless also made and used by the people who occupied this site.
Pottery. During the exploration of this group of earthworks, two to three bushels of potsherds were recovered. These were found principally in the refuse piles, in the general digging of the mounds, on the hearths, and among the ashes of the mounds and embankments. Sherds were found with several burials, but only two of these vessels could be restored. They are shown on plate 7, c, and plate 22, d. Not one fragment of pottery of the Madi- sonville type was found. Pots with ears were apparently unknown to the builders of these earthworks.1
A most instructive group of vessels taken from the hearth near the center of mound 1 (figures 12 and 13) is illustrated in plate 23,
FIGURE 46 Cloth enlarged three diameters to show type of weaving. Contact with copper ear-ornaments had preserved a few pieces of this twined-woven fabric.
and in g, h, i, plate 22. The four vessels represent types in use at the same period, and as good fortune will have it, they belong to the three principal groups of pottery from this site.
The two examples figured at the bottom of plate 22 are ordinary cooking pots. Like most of the coarser pottery from this site, they are made of clay, sparingly tempered with crushed stone. The greater portion of the surface of each is covered with cord markings, produced probably by the twine-covered potter's pad- dle used in their construction. The upper portion of the body of i, is separated into four divisions by somewhat depressed bands extending downward from the roughly smoothed neck. A smaller pot with similar decorations, from a mound in Wisconsin, is
1 For examples of Madisonville pottery, see Indian Village Site and Cemetery Near Madison- ville, Ohio, Papers of the Peabody Museum, Vol. VIII, No. 1, plates 22-24.
PEABODY MUSEUM PAPERS
VOL. VIII, No. 3, PLATE 22
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Pottery vessels: a, e, Mound 4, general digging; b, f, Burial Place, general digging; c, Trench a, embankment of the Great Enclosure; g, h, i, Central fireplace of Mound 1. (About 1/5.)
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figured by Holmes.1 Probably two-thirds of the potsherds from the Turner Group are of this crude variety, without decoration except occasionally at the neck or near the rim, as illustrated in plate 22, d, and plate 24, d-f, j, k, and having the usual cord markings. In figure 47, a, c, are shown outlines of two of the largest, each restored from a single fragment of the rim and part of the body. The approximate capacity of each is twelve to fifteen gallons.
The third and fourth vessels from the hearth of mound 1, although of entirely different shape, evidently belong to the same general group. The first of these is shown in plate 22, g. It is made of the same material as the others, is shallow, with rounded
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FIGURE 47
Outlines of large cooking pots restored from fragments. The approximate capacity of the two largest is twelve to fifteen gallons.
bottom, and the body has six lobes. Unlike other vessels of this shape it has no surface decorations. A second example of this type with four lobes, and bearing characteristic surface decora- tions, is illustrated in b. Fragments of a number of this general form were found. The fourth vessel from the hearth is figured on plate 23. It is nearly cylindrical, with flat bottom, and is ornamented with angular bands filled with the usual zigzag pattern.
Many fragments of ware bearing this type of decoration were recovered. They were not, however, nearly so abundant as the cord-marked group above referred to. Pottery vessels with this style of decoration were made in a great variety of shapes. The designs were usually composed of bands or circles outlined with in-
1 Aboriginal Pottery of the Eastern United States, W. H. Holmes, Twentieth Report, Bureau of American Ethnology, plate clxx, b.
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cised lines, and filled with zigzag patterns which were not made with a roulette, as suggested by Holmes, but with a tool more or less gouge-shaped, having a plain or notched edge, which was pressed against the soft clay with a rocking motion, each opposite corner being raised and slightly advanced alternately, the tool not being wholly lifted from the vessel. Potsherds showing these markings were found in nearly all the mounds of the group, also in the ceme- tery, and beneath the embankment of the great enclosure. Ex- amples are illustrated on plate 24, j-1, n-p. While most of the sherds of this general class have the zigzag pattern as a part of the decoration, it is replaced in a few instances by circular or square depressions, the former being shown in m. Another vessel having the zigzag pattern over nearly its entire surface is illustrated in plate 7, c. It was found in grave 9-b, in the cemetery of the great enclosure by Mr. Saville in 1890.
A portion of a very interesting vase, about 6 inches in height, from the Liberty Group of mounds, is in the Museum collections. It is of a depressed double globular form. The entire lower section is covered with a design composed of triangles made up of bands { of an inch wide, filled with zigzag markings. The upper section is somewhat smaller than the lower, and is ornamented with a zone in which are six highly conventionalized bird figures, the space within the incised outlines of each bird being filled with the usual zigzag pattern. Each alternate bird is reversed. Both the figures and grouping remind one strongly of similar designs upon Peruvian textiles. Illustrations of a few examples of this group of earthenware taken from the mounds of the Great Earthwork Builders in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, are brought together by Holmes, and should be compared with those described in this paper.1
Squier and Davis found a number of these vessels on the altar of mound 3 in Mound City, two of which they figured; and a flat- bottomed vase, closely resembling in form a modern terra-cotta flower pot, with its outer surface covered with zigzag markings, was taken from the altar of the great mound of the Hopewell Group. Many fragments of vessels having a cross-hatched band near the rim, beneath which was usually an encircling row of dots or depressions, were found. These apparently belong to the same
1 Holmes, ibid., figure 74 and plates clxiz, clxxi, clxxii.
PEABODY MUSEUM PAPERS
VOL. VIII, No. 3, PLATE 23
Pottery vessel from central fireplace of Mound 1. (About 1/2.)
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general group as the above, for the forms and material are the same, although the ornamentation differs in detail.
In addition to these there are fragments of vessels with flat bases, and upright or flaring sides. A nearly perfect specimen of the former kind has already been referred to (plate 23). There is also shown on plate 24, r, the bottom of a vase having four feet. Ten feet of similar vessels were found during the explorations of mounds 3 and 4, and beneath the embankment of the great en- closure. Sherds of various food bowls, with wide rims and without decorations, were recovered (plate 22, a, c, and plate 24, h); and also a very few fragments showing ornamental paddle marks, the largest of which, with the form of the pot restored, is illustrated in plate 22, f. A small fragment having a more elaborate pattern may be seen in plate 24, q. There were also several sherds similar to s, of the same plate. Sherds showing ornamental paddle marks were extremely rare. Such vessels may have been brought from the southern Appalachian region, or they may possibly have been made by captured women from the South.
Some of the clay used in making the smaller and more delicate vessels was tempered with sand instead of crushed stone. The writer has found no evidence of the use of crushed shell as a tem- pering material by the builders of these earthworks, as was the custom among the later Indians of the neighboring Madisonville site.
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