Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-06-16
TRs MoU D BUILDERS.

At the annual meeting OF the Boston So
ciety of Natural History q highly interest
ing statement was made by Professor f.
W. Pntnam, curator Of the Peabody Mu-
scum OF Harvard University, concerning
his recent explorations Of certain mounds
in the Ohio valley The subject was illus.
trated by drawings hung upon the wall,
and by photographs. These explorations,
in which he was assisted by DR.. q. L.
Metz, of Madisonville, O, were made last
year, and were restricted TO one particular
mouud.field or tract upon the border of the
Little Miami river, IN Madleouville, about
twenty miles from Cincinnati. 1t is to be
regarded az one Of the feiicjties Of the
event-f0r the work and results constitute
an event in the full significance of the
word-that, being situated 30 near one of
the great cities of the land. it has hap
pened that no persons impelled by meIe
idle curiosity have hitherto dug into these
mounds in random way, and thus practi.
oally destroyed them in respect to their
special value 10 the arch8ologiss. The ex-
cayations now made were conducted upon
the most approved methods of science.
Nothing worthy Of notice has escaped OBJ
servation and record, and every relic has
been carefully preserved for scientific pur-
poses. In the brief discussion which fol-
| lowed the professors statement, one of the
| members OF the society declared the results
thus reached 20 be the most important dis
covery yet made in American archaeology.
| Several Of these mounds were what are
| called altar mounds" and in these the
valuable and instructive relics were found.
| These, in numbers and variety, were
sufficient in themselves, if none Others had
ever been found, 10 give very distinct, it
might also be said comprehensive, idea Of
the civilization or the social state of the
! ancient mound builders. Among other
things found were articles of personal
sdornment-esr rings of pearl and brace
lets of metal. The precise advance of the
art of wearing metals Is thus disclosed.
| The metals had been wrought by hammer
ing the ore. Molten wcrk was beyond the
skin, or rather the knowledge, of the arti-
ticer. The metals were iron, copper, silver
and gold, This Is the first time gold has
b5en found in the mounds. The gold, and,
In some instances, the silver, was used for
plating an inferior metal being hammered
thin and clinched st the edges. Most sig.
nifieant of all, perhaps was little statu-
I tkttf WHICH nus uulN presented lue human
form IN a shspely, it might almost be said
artistic, contour. bus showed also the ear
rings and the drapery of the waist, which
were fashionable IN the American prehis.
torio times. Some of these relics must
originally have come from the Florida
coast, from Lake Superior and from the
Rocky mountains, indicsting thus either
extensive migration or INSTRUMENTATION,
The indications are that cremation of the
dead was prseticed by these natives, and
that an altar mound is significant Of some
great sacrlical ceremony, and that tbesC
trinkets and relics, some of which per
tanned to the useful arts, represented 81
offering on the part Of these people equiv
alent. In comparison with our scale OF val
ues. to hundreds of thousands Of dollars,
| Il Boston Advertiser.