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XLVIII. Front and Vertical View of the Same.

The circumstances under which this skull was found are altogether so extraordinary, as to merit a detailed account. It will be observed from the map, that the mound above indicated is situated upon the summit of a high hill, overlooking the valley of the Scioto, about four miles below the city of Chillicothe. It is one of the most prominent and commanding positions in that section of country. Upon the summit of this hill rises a conical knoll of so great regularity as almost to induce the belief that it is itself artificial. Upon the very apex of this knoll, and covered by the trees of the primitive forest, is the mound. It is about eight feet high by forty-five or fifty feet base. The superstructure is a tough yellow clay, which at the depth of three feet is intermixed with large rough stones, as shown in the accompanying section, Fig. 199.

These stones rest upon a dry carbonaceous deposit of burned earth and small stones, of a dark black color, and much compacted. This deposit is about two feet in thickness in the centre, and rests upon the original soil. In excavating the mound, a large plate of mica was discovered placed upon the stones, at the point indicated by the letter a in the section. Immediately underneath this plate of p289 mica and in the centre of the burned deposit, was found the skull figured in the plates. It was discovered resting upon its face. The lower jaw, as indeed the entire skeleton, excepting the clavicle, a few cervical vertebræ, and some of the bones of the feet, all of which were huddled around the skull, were wanting. No relics were found with the bones, except a few shells of the fresh-water molluscs from the neighboring river.

Fig. 199.

From the entire singularity of this burial it might be inferred that the deposit was a comparatively recent one; but the fact that the various layers of carbonaceous earth, stones, and clay were entirely undisturbed, and in no degree intermixed, settles the question beyond doubt, that the skull was placed where it was found at the time of the construction of the mound. Either, therefore, we must admit that the skull is a genuine relic of the mound-builders proper, or assume the improbable alternative that the mound in question does not belong to the grand system of earthworks of which we have been treating.

The skull is wonderfully well preserved; unaccountably so, unless the circumstances under which it was found may be regarded as most favorable to such a result. The imperviousness of the mound to water, from the nature of the material composing it, and its position on the summit of an eminence subsiding in every direction from its base, are circumstances which, joined to the antiseptic qualities of the carbonaceous deposit enveloping the skull, may satisfactorily account for its excellent preservation.

Of course no general conclusion as to the cranial characteristics of the ancient people can be based upon a single skull. It may nevertheless not be wholly unimportant or uninteresting to notice particularly the more prominent peculiarities of the specimen before us. The most striking feature is its extraordinary compactness or roundness. This will best be illustrated by the measurements, which show the vertical diameter to be 6.2 inches; longitudinal diameter 6.5 inches; inter-parietal diameter 6 inches. The vertical occiput, the prominent vertex, and great inter-parietal diameter, all of which are strongly marked in this skull, are, according to Dr. Morton, features characteristic of the American race, but more particularly of the family which he denominates the Toltecan, and of which the Peruvian head may be taken as the type. This skull was accurately measured by Dr. Morton, with the following results:

MEASUREMENTS.

Longitudinal diameter.

6.5

inches.

Inter-parietal diameter.

6  

inches.

Vertical diameter.

6.2

inches.

Frontal diameter.

4.5

inches.

Inter-mastoid arch,

16  

inches.

Inter-mastoid line,

4.5

inches.

Occipito-frontal arch,

13.8

inches.

Horizontal periphery,

19.8

inches.

Facial angle,

81  

degrees.

Internal capacity,

90  

cubic inches.