Litchfield enquirer., 1847-10-21
AMERICAN ARCH1EoLOGY
Fsss Vs,um. sfsae sms'Aso"ia" Iass;.s''

Two or three months since. We gave onl
/ readers a brief account Of some ofthe won,
ders of the ancient world which have been
disclosed by the systematic excavations oI
the mounds of the West under the snperin-
tendendance Of our friend, 3. G, Sou'ER
Esq !, aud DR.. Davis. Atthat time We sta
ted that Mr.. Squier was engaged in prepar'
ing for the press = great work on American
Antiquities, con,aining history Of the re-
suits Of their lab0rS
We are gratiied TO learn, by cores
pondence contained in the last number OF
the Literary World, that Mr.. Squier's work
has been examined and approved BY com
m;stee of the Smi,hsoaian Ius.ita,e. and is
to be published uuass ne auspices of tina,
institution.
Among those who have "a judgmen,
upon the work, in terms ofthe warmest cons
raendalion, are. Prof Henry Secretary OF
the Smithsonian Institute, Rev, ~. Robin.
son, Hon. Albert Gallatin, SO.
This work, containing researches into
the origin and purposes OF the Aboriginal
mon Nments and remaiss Of the MiSsisSippi
Valley, will embrace slhe details and results
of extended surveys carried on during sev-
eral years BY Mr.. E. G. Squeir and DR.. E.
H. Davis, of Ohio. The labors of these
gentlemen embrace the opening and exam
ination of more than two hundred mounds,
Of every variety and character, from the
greatest to the least. These worksawere
not careleSsly overthrow. but laid open Id
their centre; the relics, if any existed, were
removed. and the earth again replaced "a
these examinations, the number and sAxit>
ty of aboriginal relics which haV2 Asn
brought to light, must excite astoniSHf1z 81
IN all. Their collection embraces maOy
thousand objects. exhibiting The state ofthe
arts among the ancient people, or whose ex-
istence they are the only m. MORALS. They
consist of implements and ornaments in
silver, copper, lead. stone, ivory and pottery,
ia; hioned in variety Of forms, ard exhib-
i,iag skill which, in some instances, mod
ern arts cannot surpaSs. The sculptures
Of birds, animals and reptiles, constitute
large class Of these relics. They are cut
from. various kinds of stone, aud in many
instances from porphyry. Several highly
fnished sculptures of the human head are.
deserving Of notice, and probably convey an
idea of the physical character Of the people
A single scull the only one out of many
hundreds discovered in fragments, which
has beea preserved entire, and our expIo-
rers are satisfied belongs to the primitive
people, is all we have aside from these, tn
enable us to fern an opinion of the race.
But the mounds and their contents are
but small portion Of interesting facts
made known by these gentlemen, for we
. onsider the vast earth. works the most re-
markable. Their labors embrace surveys
Of more than 100 works of this description.
some Of them miles in extent. Others are
vast enclosures covering a space equal 10
that occupied by the city of New York.
Again, we see fortified places, in the con-
s.ruetion Of which modern military science
might perhaps derive some useful hints.
The work in question will embrace the
details Of these most curious aud interest
ing explorations, and will be ILLUSTRATED with
several hundred wood .ngravings in the
highest style of art. These will exhibit
representations of the relics discovered
views of the mounds and other ancient res
manifestations, plans, &C. II will also
contain 70 quarto photographic plans, being
the surveys Of the other works alluded 10,
!aii downon an accurate scale. What will
be the extent of the letler>press we are una
bic to say, but it will probably exceed 500
quarlo pages
Many analogies are presented to our ex.
plorers, in investigating the antiquities anil
primitive history of the earlier nations of
the Old World. The serT ent aud egg which
has a prominent place in the mythology Of
Egypt and India, IMPLYING universal prin
cipic, has actually been found In Ohio, in
well defined serpent 1910 feet In length,
formed OF earth, in the net of swallowing an
egg S0me str;k;n~ .n.io... -, :,