62874. A grooved ax of gray sandstone, 5 inches long, 3 inches wide, and 1 inch thick. The groove is deep and well rounded, and has two bordering ridges in high relief. The head is low and conical, and the blade narrow and rectangular. The surface has originally been quite smooth, but is now somewhat battered.
| Fig. 134. 62879 |
| Fig. 135. 62880 |
62871. A cylindrical pestle of gray diorite (?), 11 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. The general surface is rough, the points being smoothed by use.
62879. A perforated tablet, made of gray, chloritic schist, 2½ inches long by 1½ inches broad, illustrated in [Fig. 134]. The sides are notched in a way that gives a dumb-bell like outline. The ends are almost square. Series of notches have been cut in the terminal edges. On one of the lateral margins rude notches and zigzag lines have been engraved. In the middle of the plate there is a circular perforation one-fourth of an inch in diameter. Midway between this and the ends are two other perforations, one being circular and one-eighth of an inch in diameter, and the other lozenge or diamond shaped and nearly one-fourth of an inch in width. These show no evidence of wear. The surface is uneven, though somewhat polished. It has probably been used for straightening arrow shafts and shaping strings.
62880. Fragment of a perforated tablet carved from gray slate. It has been broken transversely near the middle, through a perforation which has been about one-eighth of an inch in diameter. The remnant is 2 inches in length and 1½ inches in width at the perforation. One side is plain, the other has a design of plain and zigzag lines. The edges are beveled and notched. See [Fig. 135].
[ VICINITY OF KINGSTON.]
On the farm of Mr. M. Biss, three miles from Kingston, on the Tennessee River, a mound was opened which was so located as to overlook the river, and at the same time guard the approach from two pieces of projecting wood. It was 11 feet high, 29 feet wide on the top, and 45 feet in diameter at the base. It was composed entirely of clay.
Three feet from the surface six very much decayed skeletons were found, no parts of which could be preserved. The bodies seem to have been deposited without definite order.