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Certain Aboriginal ReIllains of the Alabama River BY CLARENCE B. MOORE , , , , \..--'", , 4., ~ ~ ~ -.J ~ ~ C) lt !) ~ - ::x en "- ~ .. ~ / /'" -_../ S NEAR MATTHEWS' LAXf)IXG, WILCOX COUNTY (4). About 1.5 miles in a southwesterly llirection from the landing, in a plollghl·ll field, about 100 yards from the river, was a mound much ploughell down and irregular in shape. Two great depressions nearby showed whence the material was derived. The present height of the mound is Gfeet 4 inches; the major and minor ax(>s of its base are 120 feet and 70 feet, respectively. 38 JOURN. A. N. S. PHILA.• VOL. XI. Classics in SoutheasternArchaeology 125 298 CERTAIN ABORIGINAL REMAINS OF THE ALABAMA RIVER. It was investigated by kind permission of Messrs. Miller and Bonner, of Camden , Ala., through whose courtesy all our work near Matthews' Landing was done. Extensive trenching of the mound, which was of clay covered with sand, showed it to have been of a domiciliary character with no yield beyond sherds, one perforated mussel shell and one earthenware" checker." About 50 yards in a southwesterly direction from the mound just described, near the river bank, with the plantation road passing over it, was an irregular undulation from 1 to 2 feet in height. Its exact area was impossible to determine though it was considerably less than that of the neighboring mound. A large portion was dug through by us. The upper stratum was of clay 4 or 5 inches thick. ~ext came a layer of yellow sand 18 inches to 2 feet in thickness, having a slight admixture of clay, while the bottom layer, from 1 to 2 feet thick, was of clay blackened with charcoal and organic matter and containing many sherds. In it were a large number of pottery" checkers" and one small one of shell, also the €arthenware head of a duck, formerly the handle of a vessel. The ware was of good quality, containing an admixture of pounded shell, while some was black and highly polished. Burials were met with at two points: one being the bunched remains of an adult and of a child; the other, also of an adult and of a child, had the bones in anatomical order. The crania, badly broken, showed artificial flattening. The Choctaws, we are told/ compressed the skulls during infancy, and hence were called" flatheads" by the traders. Probably other Indians along the Alabama practised this same custom of cranial compression. This mound had every appearance of having been a dwelling site like its neighbor, with burials, perhaps of a later period than the mound itself. About 400 yards in a W. S. W. direction from the landing is a mound on undulating country, with probably an average height of 7 feet. The sides, washed by the river in times of unusual flood, probably originally ran steeply up to It perfectly level plateau, most likely intended for domiciliary purp~ses. Pine trees, some 2 feet in (liameter, are on the mound which bears no appearance of previous ('IIHivatioll. The mound at present has somewhat the shape of ~t blunt wedge, prohably conferred by wash of water and, doubtless, formerl,Y was rectangular in shape like other mounds of its class. The summit plateau, in an easterly and westerly direction, has a diameter of about 138 feet, with a base diameter about 3G tl~et greater. Across the western portion of the plateau, the thick end of the wedge, the diameter is about 100 feet, the base-diameter about 45 feet in excess. Various trenches and pits indicated the mound to have been made of sandy clay, with a Ruperficial layer of sand, of varying depth, say from 1 to 3 feet. About 3 feet down, extending through the mound on the same level, was a thin layer of earth blackened probably by fire and admixture of organic matter, seemingly indicating a long-continued period of occupation. No interments were found I l'iekett, quotillg Adair, "History of Alabama," page 125 et I'eq. 126 Classics in Southeastern Archaeology CERTAIN ABORIGINAL REMAINS OF THE ALABAMA RIVER. :2PU below this layer, though some lay on it, from which we cOllclw!ed that the origillal mound had been increased 3 feet in height and subsequently used for burials. About three-fourths of the plateau was dug through by us to a depth of 3 feet, resulting in the discovery of burials as follows: Burial No. I.-With its top 9 inches below the surface, was a vessel...

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