Burial Mounds of the Northern Sections of the United States Part 8

No. 9. A grave containing three skeletons, lying horizontally on their backs and side by side, the outer ones with their heads east and the middle one with the head west; no implements.

No. 10. Horizontal, on the right side, head north, with stone implements in front of the face.

No. 11. Doubled up, top of the head south; sh.e.l.l beads around the neck and celts at the feet.

No. 12. A grave containing seventeen skeletons, seven of which had flat heads, two of the number children. Two of the adult heads were resting on engraved sh.e.l.ls.

In this grave were found four pots and two food-cups, the handle of one representing an owl's head and that of the other an eagle's head. One of the small pots was inside a larger one. Scattered among the skeletons were sh.e.l.l beads, polished celts, discoidal stones, paint, etc. None of the skeletons were inclosed in stone graves.[36]

In order to convey an idea of the number of articles deposited with the dead in some of these burial places, I give here a list of those obtained from the pit last described:

One stone ax.

Forty-three polished celts.

Nine vessels of clay.

Thirty-two arrow-heads.

Twenty soapstone pipes, mostly uninjured.

Twelve discoidal stones.

Ten rubbing stones.

Two hammer stones.

One broken soapstone vessel.

Six engraved sh.e.l.ls.

Four sh.e.l.l gorgets.

One _Busycon perversum_ entire, and two or three broken ones.

Five very large copper beads.

One lot of fragments of sh.e.l.ls, some of them engraved.

A few rude sh.e.l.l pins.

Sh.e.l.l beads.

A few small copper beads.

Specimens of paint and plumbago.

Three skulls.

It is evident from the foregoing descriptions that the mode of burial and the depositories of the dead of the mound-building tribes of this part of North Carolina differed in several marked and important respects from the mode of burial and burial mounds of the sections previously alluded to, and in fact from those of any other district.

Here the pit seems to have been the important part of the depository and the mound a mere adjunct. In some cases the bodies appear to have been buried soon after death, while in others--as, for example, the groups in the triangle and Lenoir burial pit--the skeletons were probably deposited after the flesh was removed.

We are reminded by these pits of the mode of burial practiced by some of the Indian tribes, as mentioned by Lafitau,[37] Brebeuf,[38] etc.; but, before attempting to draw conclusions, we will give other ill.u.s.trations of the burial mounds of this district, which are far from being uniform in character.

Comparatively few mounds have as yet been opened in North Carolina; hence the data relating to this region is somewhat meager. As bearing upon the subject, and probably relating to a period immediately following the close of the mound-building era, I give from Mr. Rogan's notes the description of a burial place explored by him on the farm of Mr. Charles Hunt, in the central part of Wilkes County:

This is not a "burial place," in the usual sense of that term, but is probably the site of a camp or temporary village. It is about three miles and a half east of Wilkesborough, on the second bottom or terrace of the Yadkin River. It differs from the burial places just described in having no large pit, the graves being separate and independent of each other. A diagram showing the relative positions of the graves and small pits accompanies Mr. Rogan's report but is omitted here, although the numbering of the graves is retained in the description.

No. 1 is a grave or oval-shaped pit 2 feet long and 18 inches wide, the top within 8 inches of the surface of the ground, while the bottom is 2-1/2 feet below it. This contained the remains of two skeletons, which were surrounded by charcoal; some of the bones were considerably charred. In the pit were some fragments of pottery, a few flint chips, and a decayed tortoise sh.e.l.l.

No. 2. A grave 2 feet wide, 6 feet long, and 5 feet deep. It contained quite a quant.i.ty of animal bones, some of them evidently those of a bear; also charcoal, mussel sh.e.l.ls, and one bone implement.

No. 3. A grave of the same size and depth as No. 2, containing animal bones, broken pottery, and some charcoal.

No. 4. Grave; the size, depth, and contents same as the preceding.

No. 5. A circular pit 2 feet in diameter and 2 feet deep. This contained a very large pot, in which were some animal bones; it was on its side and crushed.

No. 6. A pit 2-1/2 feet deep and 2 feet square, with a bed of charcoal in the bottom 6 inches deep. On this bed was a layer of flint chips, and on the chips a quant.i.ty of broken pottery, animal bones, a discoidal stone, and a bone implement.

No. 7. A grave similar to those described.

No. 8. A large grave, containing three skeletons, lying at full length upon the right side, with the heads a little east of north. Between the front and the middle one was a ma.s.s of mussel sh.e.l.ls. At the head and back of the front one were a number of animal bones, and between it and the middle one, opposite the pelvis, was a large broken pot. The right arm of the third or back one was extended forward and upward, the left arm resting across the head, a white flint chip grasped in the hand. The head of this skeleton was resting on a piece of a broken pot, and in front of the face, at the distance of a foot, was also part of a pot, containing a stone fragment and some animal bones. Under the legs of the three skeletons, the head extending in front of the legs of the third or back one, was the skeleton of a bear, and in front of the latter were three broken pots, containing animal bones.

[Ill.u.s.tration FIG. 34.--Fire-bed, Wilkes County, North Carolina.]

No. 9. A basin-shaped fire-bed, or bed of burnt clay, 8 inches thick. A section of this bed is shown in Fig. 34--_b_, _b_, _b_, the bed of burnt clay, 8 inches thick, the material evidently placed here and not a part of the original soil. The basin _a_ was filled with ashes, to the depth of 12 inches; the diameter, from 1 to 2, 2 feet 3 inches, from 1 to 3 and from 2 to 4, 1 foot 6 inches.

No. 10. A bed of mussel sh.e.l.ls, 3 inches thick and 3 feet in diameter, lying on a flat bed of burnt earth 3 inches thick.

No. 11. A pit 5 feet deep and 3 feet in diameter, filled with animal bones, mussel sh.e.l.ls, and broken pottery.

There was no mounding over any of these graves or pits.

The basin-shaped fire-bed, No. 9, reminds us very strongly of the so-called altars of the Ohio mounds, and may possibly a.s.sist us in arriving at a correct conclusion concerning these puzzling structures.

A mound opened by Dr. J. M. Spainhour in Burke County, some years ago, presents some variations, though, so far as the posture and relative positions of the skeletons are concerned, reminding us of those in Caldwell County. The following extract is from the article containing the description:[39]

Digging down I struck a stone about 18 inches below the surface, which was found to be 18 inches long and 16 inches wide and from 2 to 3 inches in thickness, the corners rounded. It rested on solid earth and had been smoothed on top.

I then made an excavation in the south of the mound, and soon struck another stone, which upon examination proved to be in front of the remains of a human skeleton in a sitting posture; the bones of the fingers of the right hand had been resting on the stone. Near the hand was a small stone about 5 inches long, resembling a tomahawk or Indian hatchet. Upon a further examination many of the bones were found, though in a very decomposed condition, and upon exposure to the air they soon crumbled to pieces. The heads of the bones, a considerable portion of the skull, jaw-bones, teeth, neck-bones, and the vertebrae were in their proper places. Though the weight of the earth above them had driven them down, yet the frame was perfect, and the bones of the head were slightly inclined toward the east. Around the neck were found coa.r.s.e beads that seemed to be of some substance resembling chalk.

A small lump of red paint, about the size of an egg, was found near the right side of this skeleton. From my knowledge of anatomy, the sutures of the skull would indicate the subject to have been twenty-five or twenty-eight years of age. The top of the skull was about 12 inches below the mark of the plow.

I made a further excavation in the west part of this mound and found another skeleton similar to the first, in a sitting posture, facing the last. A stone was on the right, on which the right hand had been resting, and on this was a tomahawk which had been about 7 inches in length, broken into two pieces, and much better finished than the first. Beads were also on the neck of this one, but were much smaller and of finer quality than those on the neck of the first; the material, however, seemed to be the same. A much larger amount of paint was found by the side of this than the first. The bones indicated a person of larger frame and I think of about fifty years of age. Everything about this one had the appearance of superiority over the first. The top of the skull was about 6 inches below the mark of the plow.

I continued the examination, and after diligent search found nothing at the north part of the mound, but on reaching the east side found another skeleton, in the same posture as the others, facing the west. On the right side of this was a stone on which the right hand had been resting, and on the stone was also a tomahawk about 8 inches in length, broken into three pieces, much smoother and of finer material than the others.