CHAPTER IV. ANCIENT REMAINS IN THE UNITED STATES. THE last order of these antiquities in the United States consists of Mounds, which are square, oblong, or circular at the base, and conical or flat at the summit. They are either tumuli, terraced elevations in the vicinity of the mural remains, or truncated pyramidal erections. The tumuli are always the repositories of the dead, and it is probable most of the other mounds may have served, secondarily, as sepulchres; though the principal object of many, contiguous to the fortifications, was unquestionably defensive, while the purpose of others, and particularly of the larger truncated pyramids, was religious. Where there exists so much resemblance in form, it is not always easy to distinguish the ancient tumuli from those thrown up by the Indians. The superior dimensions of the former usually present one mark of distinction, not always, however, satisfactory. In their contents we perceive surer indications of their origin, especially in the traces of the incineration of the dead, a custom not usually prevailing at present with the Indians. Another characteristic difference, but one not invariable, is exhibited in the nature of their materialsthose of ancient workmanship appearing often to have been erected with alluvion dissimilar from the neighboring soil. It may be added also that the association of the ancient tumuli in groups, and their proximity to the fortified enclosures, indicate an identity of origin. The regular form and position of those groups more isolated, and the symmetrical manner in which they are generally arranged, prevent any confusion between them and the less ancient structures proceeding from the Indians, which usually occur singly. Many of the ancient tumuli consist of earth, and others of stone, the composition depending however upon the natural facilities for obtaining either material. Thus of three, discovered upon an elevated ridge in the state of Kentucky, two were of the former, and one of the latter description; all, however, exhibiting the same internal indications in other respects. They had been erected over dead bodies, or rather over the ashes of the dead, as beneath them were ashes, calcined bones, and charred wood, enclosed in a grave formed of flat pieces of stone. These mounds were thirty-six feet in diameter, but only three in height; and they have been considered as of recent construction, though they are manifestly of the same character with others found on the Muskingum river, which are unquestionably ancient. The latter were composed of earth, and had a basis of well burnt bricks, each four or five inches square, upon which were. cinders, charcoal, and pieces of calcined human bones. A similar mound of large dimensions existed at Marietta, which on being removed was found to contain, besides pieces of copper, silver plate, and oxided iron, one human body upon the surface of the earth, deposited with the face upwards, and the head pointing to the south-west. Blackened earth, charcoal, and a circular coffin of thin flat stones still dark and stained with * Drake's Picture of Cincinnati, p. 201. smoke, demonstrated that the funeral obsequies had been celebrated by fire. This mound was six feet high, and thirty in diameter, and its materials were taken from the adjacent plain. Another mound of similar dimensions, at a short distance from Marietta, on being examined was found to contain copper ornaments, together with the remains of a single skeleton, also probably burnt before burial.* Near the centre of the circular enclosure at Circleville above described, was a tumulus about ten feet high. On the east side a raised passage-way led to its level summit, which was thirty feet in diameter, and on the same side was a semicircular pavement composed of pebbles.† This mound has been removed, and its contents were a great quantity of arrow or spear-heads; the handle of some iron instrument, as was thought, encircled by a ferule of silver; a large mica mirror three feet long; a plate of iron oxidized, and two skeletons twenty feet asunder, surrounded with ashes, charcoal, and well-burnt brick. * At Cincinnati a mound eight feet high, sixty broad, and six hundred and twenty long, on examination appeared to *Archæologia Americana, vol. i. p. 175. † Ibid. p. 177. One of the first accounts, written in 1794, describes this mound as raised upon the margin of the second bank of the Ohio river, eight feet in height and with a base of about one hundred and twenty by sixty. Upon its surface were found stumps of oak trees seven feet in diameter. The articles which were found were near a body interred in a horizontal position, and with the head towards the setting sun. The instruments of stone were smoothly and regularly cut, and of great hardness. The copper was well wrought, and the carved bones were not human remains.--Transactions of Amer. Phil. Soc., vol. iv. p. 178. belong to the same class. Its oval figure and correspondence with the cardinal points, evince the advancement in knowledge of its architects, which conclusion is not disproved by the character of its contents. These, besides articles of jasper, crystal, coal, and carved bones, consisted also of beads; lead, copper, and mica plates; marine shells of the genus buccinum, cut into domestic utensils, and the sculptured representation of the head of a voracious bird; while, as in the mounds before described, human bones appeared, some enclosed in coffins of stone, but all embedded in ashes and charcoal, the unfailing signs of the burning of the deceased. In Knox county, Tennessee, upon the Holston river, are several pyramidal mounds, surrounded by an earthen entrenchment enclosing several acres. At every angle of the embankment, it sweeps out into a semicircle; and it appears well calculated as a military work. One of the mounds upon being *penetrated developed a quantity of ashes and charcoal. Near Newport, in the same state, is another mound thirty feet high, its base covering half an acre, and its superior surface level like those of the others. Nine miles south-east from Lancaster, in Fairfield county,‡ Ohio, stood a mound one hundred and fifty feet in circumference, and fifteen feet in height. Upon examination, there was found at a level corresponding with the surface of the earth, a furnace of unhewn stone eighteen feet long, six wide, and one and a half high, having a stone apparently shaped with some instrument closing the mouth. Upon this furnace was placed a vessel * Drake's Picture of Cincinnati, p. 205. † Silliman's Journal, vol. i. p. 428. Dr. Kreider's Communication to Fairfield County Med. Soc. of the same dimensions, two feet deep, and half an inch thick, made of earthenware, perfectly smooth, and well moulded; and underneath was a thick layer of ashes and charcoal, while the bottom of the vessel, from its appearance, had evidently been subjected to the action of heat. This huge caldron contained twelve human skeletons, of various size and age: around the neck of one of the children were beads of muscle shell, a piece of cane, entire shells, arrows, and a curiously wrought stone. Near Newark, Ohio, is a conical stone tumulus, forty feet high, and with a base one hundred feet in diameter.* The tumulus described as ninety feet high, at Circleville, stood on an eminence which also appeared to be artificial. It contained an immense number of human skeletons, of every size and age, all laid horizontally, with their heads towards the centre, and feet towards the outside of the mound. Stone axes, knives, and various ornaments were found deposited, generally near the head of every individual. A mound formerly stood near the middle of the town of Chillicothe, fifteen feet high, and sixty feet in diameter.‡ Human bones occurred in various parts, on its being levelled; and at the surface of the earth, upon pieces of bark, lay a single human skeleton, covered with a mat; on its breast was an oblong stone ornament perforated with two holes, by which it was connected with a string of bone beads, and a piece of copper in the shape of a cross. On the Grave Creek, Virginia, below Wheeling, is a large mound, seventy feet in height, with a level summit sixty feet in * Delafield's Inquiry, p. 55. † Arch. Amer., vol. i.p. 179. Arch. Amer., vol. i. p. 182.-Description of the Ohio, etc. p. 36. |