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 illustrations 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 2½ 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 shell.
No. 2. A grave 2 feet wide, 6 feet long, and 5 feet deep. It contained quite a quantity of animal bones, some of them evidently those of a bear; also charcoal, mussel shells, 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.