Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-11-08
county Republican instead Of Demo
NAN AND THE MASToDoN.
ia~i's1'rs speealasssns Concerning the Dis
oovsnes near Worcester.
Hartford Tines

ia~"sAns speealatssns Concerning the Dis
oovsnes near Worcester.
Hartford Times.t
Professor 7. W. Putnam. of the
chronological museum at Cambridge.
mas MADE preliminary report on the
FOSSIL bones found in peat meadow
near the dividing line between the Mas
sachosetts towns OF Northborough and
Shrewsbury, not far from Worcester.
ana which he has been examining.
Professor Putnam is not yet pre-
pared to pronounce, confidently.
upon the race afinities - shown
by the human skull, which. be-
ing unfortunately "not typical one"
must be subjected to more careful
examination before n verdict, even a
hesitating one, can be pronounced as to
Its character and age. The question is
an interesting one, since the skull was
iound but a few feet from. that OF the
mastodon, and both rested upon the
hard-pan of that neighhorhood. which
is a hard blue clay underlying an an
Gent peat-bed. Hence the question
arises Was this person a contemporary
OF the mastodon? Paleontological sci
enee may or NAV not be able to decide
that question Alright. In any event it
VIII be interesting to see what conclu-
sion the Cambridge scientists come TO.
HE maStod0n tusks, teeth. &C..
were found one year ago this month in
digging ditch for drainage through the
peai-bed. They lay on the hard-pan at
depth OF eight feet below the surface
OF the peat. Ii was believed after some
investigation that other parts Of the
mastOdon's skeleton could be found.
and last month there were further ex-
cavations, under the direction Of DR..
Rsymenton, president Of the Werces-
ter Natural History Society. While |
digging eighteen fee; to the south
west from the spot where the mas
todon skull was found eleven months
before the workmen exposed the top Of |
a human skull. This was taken 10 bv |
DR.. RaymentOn. That gentleman saws |
he worked 1t out Of the fine peat and |
clay with his fingers; that is rested on |
its basal portion " directly on the blue
clay and stones" The under law was |
found teeth downward. about eight
inches 10 the south Of the skull. and in
immediate contact with the clay. Theev-
idence Of several witnesses Is conclusive
ontbese points. Professor Putnam. being
notified Of the discovery. visited the
spot and made a careful study Of the
peat formation and the underlying clav.
which be decides TO be the boulder clay
covering the bottom Of the ancient ba-
sin or pond. tract Of perhaps five
acres. On this hard blue clay. full of
rounded and split stones referable to
the glacial period, rests the slowly-ac-
cumulated mass Of peat-very fine at
the bottom, indicating its deposition
under water, and growing gradually
coarser toward the top. Says the Cam
bridge professor
" The two skulls, mastodon and hui
man. were unQuestionably at the bot
tom Of this peat, both resting on the
blue clay, but owing TO the in
clination Of the basin toward the north
east from the spot where the human
skull was found there were two feet less
Of peat over the skull than there was
over the mastodOn. The qualification
Of the peat was quite marked. and the
lower portion Immediately covering the
two skulls is very fine. and evidently
deposit made entirely under water.
Above this the peat is slightly cearser,
which character increases to the sur
face. While few small pieces Of wood
were found at the bottom OF the peat
several large logs and what seems to
be the remains Of partially-burned
stump were found in the layer about
two feet above the human skull. To
this depth heavy objects could have
readily sunk through the coarse or
more open formation above. but ques-
ton the possibility Of so light an OBJ
.ect as a human skull sinking through
The lower two fee; to the hard-pan at
any time subsequent to the forma-
ton Of that stratum. That both !
skulls were transported seems to
be proved by the fact that no
other bones Of the two skeletons were
found in the immediate vicinity, and
hat they were transported by water
before the peat deposits began seems
probable. The broken portions of the
human skull have the appearance Of
having been worn by water action, and
he dissertation OF the Jaw and era
hum would also indicate that method
Il removal from the rest Of the skele- I
on. Had it been a settling Of heavy !
,ody through the peat we could hardly
expect that the skull and jaw alone I
would have settled to hard-pan and the
est Of the bones Of the skeleton to have I
,een nowhere near them. and the same /
emark would apply to the skull Of the 5
nastodon." 7
This seems TO be good reasoning. In 1
egard TO the human remains, the Pro- {
essor says. Z
The skull has been placed in my L
ands for careful study and comparison. v
nd hope soon 10 be able to give def t
lite information in regard TO it. Tn
1rtunately the skull is not typical
re, and the averaging and careful l
alancing Of its characters will b
ave TO be made before its race afiini- il
les can be determined. In regard to Il
S color may add that it was as deep |
not a deeper brown than the bones a
a mastodor. It's comparatively per- y
ct preservation when compared with j:
le mastodon skull is. however, re- U
but this could be easily ac- p
ounted for by the longer exposure of Il
le mastodon bones on the surface Of a a
-syel deposit before being washed into a
le basin" v