MOUND EXPLORATIONS.
WORK OF PROF. CYRUS THOMAS.
The work of exploring the mounds and other ancient monuments of that portion of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, commenced in 1882, was carried on during the fiscal year, under the charge of Prof. Cyrus Thomas.
The regular assistants during the first half of the year were Messrs. P.W. Norris, James D. Middleton, and John P. Rogan. For the latter half they were Messrs. Middleton, Rogan, and John W. Emmert, the last named having been engaged to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Mr. Norris.
Mr. Norris was engaged during the fall of 1884 in exploring the extensive group of works in the vicinity of Charleston, Kanawha Valley, W. Va. He continued at work there until December, when he was compelled by cold weather and illness to desist. To the great regret of all his associates in the work, his illness terminated in death on the 14th of January, 1885. By his death the division has lost a faithful and enthusiastic worker.
During the summer and fall of 1884 and until the approach of extremely cold weather, Mr. Middleton was engaged in exploring the works of Knox County, Ohio. Throughout the winter and following spring his field of operations was eastern Arkansas. In the latter field he was assisted by Mr. L. H. Thing, who was employed for three months as temporary assistant.
During the summer and until the beginning of winter, Mr. Rogan was engaged (in conjunction with Rev. J. P. Maclean, who was employed as a temporary assistant) in exploring the ancient monuments of Butler County and the adjacent regions of southern Ohio. On the approach of the cold season he went south, his field of operations for the remainder of the year being northern Georgia and the southern counties of East Tennessee.
Mr. Emmert, who had been employed on January 1, 1885, to make some special explorations in East Tennessee, was made permanent assistant immediately after the death of Mr. Norris. His work in that section proving successful he continued it until the close of the fiscal year.
Mr. Gerard Fowke was engaged during November in examining the ancient quarries of Flint Ridge, Ohio, and in making a collection to illustrate the various stages in the aboriginal manufacture of flint implements. His collection is, perhaps, the most complete in this particular line of any so far made in this country. In the winter he was employed about two months in special investigations of some ancient works in Pontotoc and Union Counties, Miss., a locality supposed to have been visited by De Soto during his unfortunate expedition. In some of the mounds of this section, which was formerly the home of the Chikasa, he found some articles of European manufacture, among them a small silver plate bearing the royal arms of Castile and Leon in an old heraldic form.
Although the number of specimens obtained does not exceed that of the collection of the preceding year, the general result shows a decided advance in the accuracy of the work done. The measurements and plats have been made with more care and exactness, the descriptions are more complete, and the details more fully set forth. As an illustration one case is presented. A large mound was opened which was found to contain over ninety skeletons, irregularly placed and at different depths. At the outset a plat of the mound was made; each skeleton was located on it as discovered, and notes were taken of the depth, position, articles found with it, etc. Thus the exact position of each skeleton in the mound is recorded, as well as that of any article accompanying it. The collections made are more varied in character than those of any previous year, including several new types of pottery, some unusually fine stone implements, and from several mounds articles showing contact with Europeans. The pottery obtained by Messrs. Middleton and Thing in Arkansas is of more than ordinary interest, containing a number of specimens of the rarer forms, also several colored specimens.
The same care has been taken as heretofore in labeling and numbering the specimens, so that each can be traced by the record to the exact place where it was found. The illustrations showing the construction, character, and form of the various works explored exceed in number, accuracy, and importance those of any previous year.