Chapter 2

62764. Cup stone of rough sandstone, having seventeen shallow cup-like depressions, from 1 to 2 inches in diameter. The stone is of irregular outline, about 10 inches in diameter and 4 in thickness.

62765. A large pipe of gray steatite; the bowl is square and about 3 inches in length, by 1 in diameter. The stem end is 4 inches in length and three-fourths of an inch in diameter. The bowl has a deep, conical excavation. The same is true of the stem-end also.

MOUND AT THE JUNCTION OF THE PIGEON AND FRENCH BROAD RIVERS.

ARTICLES OF CLAY.

62870. The mound from which these fragments were obtained was located 3 miles from Newport. It was 12 feet square and 6 feet high. The original height was probably much greater. The pottery was mixed with ashes and _debris_ of what appeared to be three fire-places. No human remains were found. The fragments are not numerous, nor do they indicate a great variety in form. There is, however, considerable variety in decoration.

_Material._--The clay is generally gray or dark-reddish gray in the mass, and is apparently quite siliceous or sandy, numerous grains of quartz being visible. There is generally a sprinkling of finely-powdered mica, but no shell matter can be detected. When much weathered the surface is quite gritty.

_Form._--The leading form is a round-bodied, pot-shaped vase. There is one small hemispherical bowl. The outlines have been quite symmetrical. The mouths of the pots are wide, and the necks deeply constricted. The lip or rim exhibits a number of novel features. That of the larger specimen, of which a considerable segment remains, is furnished on the upper edge with a deep channel, nearly one-half an inch wide, and more than one-fourth of an inch deep. First section, Fig. 117. Others have a peculiar thickening of the rim, a sort of collar being added to the outside. This is about 1 inch in width, and is thicker below, giving a triangular section. Third section, Fig. 117.

The walls of the vessels are usually quite thin. The bottoms were probably round, or nearly so. No fragments, however, of the lower parts of the vessels were collected. There is but one example of handle, and this presents no unusual features. Middle section, Fig. 117.

_Ornamentation._--The ornamentation is in some respects novel. The double or channeled rim of the larger specimen, the mouth of which has been 13 or 14 inches in diameter, is embellished with a line of flutings, which seem to be the impressions of a hollow bone or reed. The whole exterior surface is embellished with a most elaborate ornamental design, which resembles the imprint of some woven fabric. If a woven fabric has not been used, a pliable stamp, producing the effect of a fabric, has been resorted to. The fact that the sharply concave portions of the neck are marked with as much regularity as the convex body of the vessel, precludes the idea of the use of a solid or non-elastic stamp.

The pattern consists of groups of parallel indented lines, arranged at right angles with one another, the puzzling feature being that there is no evidence of the passing of the threads or fillets over or under each other, such as would be seen if a woven fabric had been used. The outer surface of the triangular collar peculiar to many of the pots has been decorated with a herring-bone pattern, made by impressing a sharp implement. The handle in one case is similarly ornamented. This handle has been added _after_ the figure previously described was impressed upon the neck of the vessel. One small fragment shows another style of indented or stamped pattern, which consists of series of straight and curved lines, such as are characteristic of many of the vessels obtained from the Gulf States.

A small fragment of coal-black ware is entirely smooth on the outside, and indicates an unusually well finished and symmetrical vessel. Another shows the impression of basket-work, in which a wide fillet or splint has served as the warp and a small twisted cord as the woof. One interesting feature of this vessel is that from certain impressions on the raised ridges we discover that the vessel has been taken from the net mold while still in a plastic state.

Still another reddish porous fragment has a square rim, which is ornamented with a series of annular indentations.

COLLECTIONS FROM SEVIER COUNTY, TENNESSEE.

THE McMAHAN MOUND.

On the west fork of the Little Pigeon River, at Sevierville, on a rich bottom, 125 yards from the river, is a celebrated mound, the owners of which have for years refused to have it opened.

Mr. Palmer spent several days in trying to obtain permission to open it, and was about leaving in despair, when the owners finally yielded, not, however, without requiring a number of concessions on the part of the collector, which concessions were put in the form of a legal document.

This mound is 16 feet high and 240 feet in circumference.

Three feet below the surface, a stratum of burnt clay, 15 feet wide by 30 long, was reached. This has probably formed part of the roof of a dwelling.

Beneath this was a bed of charcoal 4 inches thick. In this bed remnants of cedar posts from 2 to 4 inches thick and 1 to 2 feet in length were found.

Below this was a stratum of ashes, covering a limited area to the depth of 4 feet. Surrounding this, the earth contained fragments of numerous articles used by the inhabitants, while beneath came 4-1/2 feet of earth, in which numerous skeletons had been deposited.

The bodies had been interred without order, and the bones were so intermingled, and so far decayed, that no complete skeletons could be collected. Beneath the layer of bones came a second deposit of ashes, 2 feet thick by 2-1/2 feet in diameter, and beneath this a mass of red clay, 18 inches in thickness. In the earth surrounding the ashes and clay, a number of skeletons were found; these were in such an advanced stage of decomposition that only a few fragments of skulls could be preserved.

Three feet below the second layer of bones, the undisturbed soil was reached.

Two boxes of bones were collected, the well-preserved crania numbering about twenty.

A great many interesting specimens of the implements, utensils, and ornaments of the mound-builders were obtained.

The following catalogue includes everything of interest:

ARTICLES OF STONE.

62787, 62792, 62778, 62769, 62784, 62788. Numerous specimens of arrow-points, flakes, cores, and rough masses of gray and black chalcedony, obtained partly from the mound, and partly from the soil surrounding it.

62793. A somewhat conical object of black compact graphite. The flattish base is rubbed off in an irregular way, as if in grinding down for use as a pigment.

62790. Fragment of hammerstone of gray micaceous sandstone, 5 inches long by 3 inches in diameter. It was found associated with the upper layer of skeletons.

62808. Pipe carved from gray marble. The bowl is symmetrically shaped, and resembles a common clay pipe. It is about 1-1/2 inches in height and 1 in diameter. The stem part is about one-fourth of an inch in length. Found with the upper layer of skeletons.

62786. A perforated stone tube, 1-1/4 inches long and three-fourths of an inch in diameter. It is probably the upper part of a pipe bowl.

62794. A large number of minute quartz pebbles, probably used in a rattle or in playing some game of chance. Found with the skeletons in the mound.

62798. Three glass beads, found 4 feet below the surface of the mound. One is a bright blue bead of translucent glass. One is opaque, resembling porcelain. The third is of blue-gray glass, and has three longitudinal stripes of brown, underlaid by bands of white. All are cylindrical in shape, and are from three-eighths to half an inch in length, and about one-fourth of an inch in diameter.

ARTICLES OF CLAY.

The collection of pottery from this mound is of much interest. There is but one entire vessel, but the fragments are so plentiful and well preserved that many interesting forms can be restored, and a very good idea of the ceramic work of this locality be formed.

_Form._--I have spent much time in the examination of these fragments, and have assigned each to the form of vessel to which it belonged. Where large pieces are preserved, especially if the rim is included, we have little trouble in reconstructing the entire vessel, without fear of being seriously wrong. The lower parts of the bodies of all forms are round or slightly flattened, and but a small fragment of the rim is needed to tell whether the vessel was a bottle, pot, or bowl.

I find, however, that the forms merge into each other in such a way that a complete graduated series can be found. Of first importance, are the round or globular vases with more or less constricted necks.

_Ornamentation._--The inside of all forms is plain with the exception of accidental markings of the fingers. The rim is square, sharp, or round on the edge, and sometimes slightly enlarged or beaded on the outer margin. A collar is attached to many forms, which at the lower edge overhangs. It is added to the body with the rim, or as a strip afterward attached. It is often notched or indented with a stick, bone, or reed, or with the fingers.

The necks of vases and pot-shaped vessels have a great variety of handles, knobs, and ornaments. Some of the latter seem to be atrophied handles. In some cases a low horizontal ridge, from 1 to 4 or more inches in length is placed near the rim, in place of the continuous collar. In other cases a narrow, crescent-shaped ridge is attached, the points reaching down on the shoulder, the arch lying upon the neck. Still others have one or more handles which connect the rim with the neck or shoulder of the vessel, leaving a round or oblong passage for a cord or vine.

These handles were added after the vessel was completed. They are never ornamented. In one case an arched handle, like the handle of a basket, connects the opposite sides of the rim. This is the only entire vessel recovered from the mound. It was associated with the upper layer of skeletons. Diameter 4-1/2 inches. Fig. 118.

The body of these vessels is sometimes quite plain, but is more frequently covered with cord markings. These, with one or two exceptions, seem to be made by a series of fine cords, approximately parallel, but without cross-threads of any kind. There is little uniformity of arrangement. In the upper part, and about the base of the neck, the indented lines are generally vertical. On the bottom they are quite irregular, as if the vessel, in making, had been rolled about on a piece of netting or coarse cloth. The cords have been about the size of the ordinary cotton cord used by merchants. One exception is seen in a fragment of a large, rudely-made vase, in which we have the impression of a fabric, the warp of which, whether wood or cord, has consisted of fillets more than one-fourth of an inch in width, the woof being fine cord.

This is what is frequently spoken of as the ear-of-corn impression. No incised or excavated lines have been noticed in these fragments of pot-shaped vessels. Some of the most elegant vessels are without upright necks. The upper or incurved surface of the body is approximately flat, forming, with the lower part of the body a more or less sharp peripheral angle. The base is rounded, and, so far as we can judge from the examples, the bottom is slightly flattened. Vessels having vertical or flaring rims are generally somewhat more shallow.

The incurved upper surface is often tastefully ornamented with patterns of incised or excavated lines which are arranged in groups, in vertical or oblique positions, or encircle the vessel parallel with the border. One specimen has a row of stamped circles, made by a reed or hollow bone.

Bowls of the ordinary shape are variously decorated. In one case we have on the outside of the rim, and projecting slightly above it, a rudely-modeled grotesque face. A notched fillet passes around the rim, near the lip, connecting with the sides of this head.

In another case a rude node is added to the rim. The only bowl having a flaring rim is without ornament.

We have only one fragment of a bowl in which the body has been marked with cords.

_Composition._--The clay used in the pottery from this mound is generally fine in texture, and of a light-gray color. Many of the fragments have been blackened by burning subsequently to their original firing, and some may have been originally blackened with graphite. The prevailing colors seen in the fragments are yellowish and reddish grays. The percentage of powdered shell used in tempering has usually been very large, forming at times at least half the mass. The flakes of shell are very coarse, being often as much as one-fourth of an inch in diameter. In many cases they have been destroyed by burning, or have dropped out from decay, leaving a deeply pitted surface.

_Pipes._--There are a number of pipes in the collection, most of which were found near the surface of the mound. In some cases they resemble modern forms very closely. The most striking example is made of a fine-grained clay, without visible admixture of tempering material. The color is a reddish gray. It is neatly and symmetrically formed, the surface being finished by polishing with a smooth, hard implement, and shaving with a knife. The bowl is 2 inches high, and the rim is bell-shaped above, with a smooth, flat lip, one-fourth of an inch wide. The diameter of the opening is nearly 2 inches. The base is conical. The stem part is one-half an inch long and one-half an inch in diameter. The bowl and stem are both conically excavated.

Another specimen is made of clay mixed with powdered shell. The bowl is cylindrical, being a little larger at the rim, which is ornamented with rows of punctures. The elbow is ornamented by a rosette of indented lines. The mouth piece has been broken away.

OBJECTS OF METAL.

62797. One of the most instructive finds in this mound is a pair of brass pins, of undoubted European manufacture. The collector makes the statement, with entire confidence in its correctness, that they had been encased in the earth at the time of the interment of the bodies. One was associated with the upper and the other with the lower layer of bones. In size and shape they resemble our ordinary brass toilet pin. The head is formed of a spiral coil of wire, the diameter of which is about one-half that of the shaft of the pin. It is also stated by the collector that an iron bolt was found in the lower stratum of bones. This object was unfortunately lost.

62795. A small brass cylinder, found 3 feet 7 inches below the surface of the mound. The thin sheet of which the coil is made is about 1 inch square. The edges are uneven. It was probably used as a bead.

OBJECTS OF SHELL.

Few mounds have rivaled this in its wealth of shell ornaments. Engraved gorgets cut from the body of the _Busycon perversum_ and large pins from the columellae of the same shell are especially numerous and well-preserved. Large numbers of beads and unworked shells were also found. All were intimately associated with the skeletons.

While many of the specimens are well-preserved, we find that many are in an advanced stage of decay, and unless most carefully handled, crumble to powder.

Similar shell ornaments are found in mounds in other parts of Tennessee, as well as in neighboring States. These have been pretty fully described in the Second Annual Report.

62830-62839. These pins are all made from the _Busycon perversum_. The entire specimens range from 3 to 6 inches in length; two are fragmentary, having lost their points by decay. The heads are from one-half to 1 inch in length, and are generally less than 1 inch in diameter. They are somewhat varied in shape, some being cylindrical, others being conical above. The shaft is pretty evenly rounded, but is seldom symmetrical or straight. It is rarely above one-half an inch in diameter, and tapers gradually to a more or less rounded point. The groove of the canal shows distinctly in all the heads, and may often be traced far down the shaft. In a number of cases the surface retains the fine polish of the newly finished object, but it is usually somewhat weathered, and frequently discolored or chalky. These specimens were found in the mounds along with deposits of human remains, and generally in close proximity to the head; this fact suggests their use as ornaments for the hair.

62840-62843. A number of saucer-shaped shell gorgets, the upper edge being somewhat straightened, the result of the natural limit of the body of the shell. Two small holes, for suspension occur near the upper margin. The diameter ranges from 3 to 6 inches.

In studying the design the attention is first attracted by an eye-like figure near the left border. This is formed of a series of concentric circles, and is partially inclosed by a looped band about one-eighth of an inch in width, which opens downward to the left. This band is occupied by a series of conical dots or depressions, the number of which varies in the different specimens. The part of the figure inclosed by this band represents the head and neck of the serpent. To the right of the eye we have the mouth, which is usually shown in profile, the upper jaw being turned upward exhibiting a double row of notches or teeth. The body encircles the head in a single coil, which appears from beneath the neck on the right, passes around the front of the head, and terminates at the back in a pointed tail armed with well-defined rattles. The spots and scales of the serpent are represented in a highly conventionalized manner.

62841-62845. The handsome specimen given in Fig. 124 is in a very good state of preservation. It is a deep, somewhat oval plate, made from a _Busycon perversum_. The surface is nicely polished and the margins neatly beveled. The marginal zone is less than half an inch wide and contains at the upper edge two perforations, which have been considerably abraded by the cord of suspension. Four long curved slits or perforations almost sever the central design from the rim; the four narrow segments that remain are each ornamented with a single conical pit. The serpent is very neatly engraved and belongs to the chevroned variety. The eye is large and the neck is ornamented with a single rectangular intaglio figure. The mouth is more than usually well defined. The upper jaw is turned abruptly backward and is ornamented with lines peculiar to this variety of the designs.

The body of the serpent opposite the perforations for suspension is interrupted by a rather mysterious cross band, consisting of one broad and two narrow lines. As this is a feature common to many specimens, it probably had some important office or significance.

62847-62848. Mask-like shell ornaments. By a combination of engraving and sculpture a rude resemblance to the human features is produced. The objects are generally made from large pear-shaped sections of the lower whorl of marine univalves. The lower portion, which represents the neck and chin, is cut from the somewhat constricted part near the base of the shell, while the broad outline of the head reaches the first suture at the noded shoulder of the body whorl. The simplest form is shown in Fig. 125. A more elaborate form is given in Fig. 126.

These objects are especially numerous in the mounds of Tennessee, but their range is quite wide, examples having been reported from Kentucky, Virginia, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas, and smaller ones of a somewhat different type from New York. In size they range from 2 to 10 inches in length, the width being considerably less. They are generally found associated with human remains in such a way as to suggest their use as ornaments for the head or neck. There are, however, no holes for suspension except those made to represent the eyes, and these, so far as I have observed, show no abrasion by a cord of suspension. Their shape suggests the idea that they may have been used as masks, after the manner of metal masks by some of the oriental nations.

62846. Engraved shell, Fig. 127. This very interesting object has been fully described in the Second Annual Report of the Bureau. The figure is so obscure that considerable study is necessary in making it out.

62930. Engraved shell, Fig. 128. This remarkable specimen has already been described in the Second Annual Report of the Bureau. The engraved design is certainly of a very high order of merit, and suggests the work of the ancient Mexicans.

62816-62822, 62824, 62826, 62828, 62829. Shell beads discoidal and cylindrical in form, made chiefly from the columellae and walls of marine univalves.

62825. Shell bead made by grinding off the apex of a large _Oliva biplicata_. (?)

62827. Beads made from _Marginella_ (?) shells.

62825, 62827, 62850-62857, 62782. Species of shell found in the mound, some with the skeletons, others near the surface.

The following genera and species are provisionally determined:

_Unio multiplicatus._ _Uhio ovatus._ _Unio crassidens._ _Unio victorum._ _Marginella (?)._ _Oliva (?)._ _Io spinosa._ _Trypanostoma anthonyi._ _Anculosa subglobosa._ _Busycon perversum._

62823. A tooth-shaped fresh-water pearl, found with the skeletons.

ANIMAL SUBSTANCES.

62861. Fragments of deer-horn found near the surface of the mound.

62858. An implement of unusual form, made from a flat piece of bone, found with the skeletons in the mound.

62859, 62860. Bone implements, needles and perforators, some of which are well preserved and retain the original polish; others are in a very advanced stage of decay.

Three boxes of human bones (not numbered).

FROM THE FIELDS AT SEVIERVILLE.

ARTICLES OF STONE.

62770. A small grooved ax, formed of a coarse textured stone, resembling diorite. It is 4-1/2 inches in length and 2-1/2 in width. The head is rounded and the cutting edge much battered. The groove is wide and shallow, and the bordering ridges prominent. The blade thins out quite abruptly. Presented by J. B. Emert.

62772. A celt 6-3/4 inches long, 2-1/2 inches wide, and 1 inch thick. The material is a compact, blue-gray, banded slate. The sides are straight and a transverse section is somewhat rectangular. Both edges are sharpened, and are very neatly beveled and polished. Presented by W. P. Mitchell.

62771. A small celt of compact greenish slate; one face is flat, the other convex. It is neatly made and perfectly preserved, the broader end being oblique and sharp. It is 3-1/8 inches in length.

62777. A rude, much-battered celt of coarse sandstone or diorite. It is 4 inches in length by 2 in width near the cutting edge. The top is somewhat conical.

62774. A large unsymmetrical celt made of coarse yellowish sandstone; one side is much battered. The cutting edge is round and dull. It is 9 inches in length by 5 in width near the broad end and is 1-1/2 inches thick.