Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1888-01-11
rae MouNp RuILpERs o. oHlo.
Professor Putnan's Address on Ancient
Americans.

u
Americans.
Professor F. W. Putnam, curator Of
Peabody museum at Cambridge, Macs,
and perhaps the most distinguished arch
aolorists in America, lectured before tho
Western Reserve Historical society the
other evening on the mounds and mound
builders of Ohio. Professor Putnam has
spent two months in exploring the great
serpent mound in Adams county. There
were said the speaker, ''four great
ANTIQUE races ON this continent, or the
people, if OF one race; show a greater di-
versity than any other on EARTH For
instance. we found in one mound in Ohio
!, 800 skeletons, AND these were of yari-
Gus sizes and differed in their character
istics. The four great races can be
resolved into two--the long headed peo-
pie and the people with short and broad
heads. There is evidence that the long
headed people came from northern Asia,
and, crossing Behring strait, continued
their way downward as far as California.
Then they crossed to the great lakes,
midtown the ST. Lawrence, made their
way along the Atlantic coast as far south
as North Carolina, and spread themselves
into Ohio and Pennsylvania. There is
evidence that they resembled the people
of northern Asia in face and form.
g '.The short headed people had the char
acteristics of the people of southern Asia,
and resembled the Malay race. The first
traces of them we find in Peru and Cen
trail America. From there they worked
toward the north into Mexico, New
Mexico, Arizona, and following the rivers
which empty into the gulf of Mexico,
notably the Mississippi, they mingled at
last with the, long headed people in Ten
nessee and Ohio, and were finally alb
sorbed by them. The Indian is a descen-
iant of those two races" The speaker
then went on to describe the mounds
built by these people. He told how the
former method of digging a hole in the
center of the mound, which was at first
practiced by explorers. has been ADAM
doned for a more exhaustive method of
research. Professor Putnam does not
excayate the mounds, but slices them off
in perpendicular sections until the whole
mound has been laid open to inspection.
He deScribed at length the use of the
many ways in which the bodies were
prepared for:interment. Sometimes they
were cremated and sometimes simply laid
in the ground: sometimes a rough stone
tomb surrounded the bodies, sometimes a
sort of log house work of timber.
Besides the burial mounds, there are
other mounds, said the speaker. ''That
is, mounds used for great religious cere-
MONIES | have been making explora-
tons in the Little Miami valley, and am
glad at this time to pay a tribute to the
work of Col. Whittlesay in the Little
Miami valley. To him we owe much of
Superior mining, as well as of the mounds
of the Little Miami valley. The mounds
in that valley are sacred mounds; that is,
they were for the purpose of sacrifice and
religious ceremonies. On these mounds
fires We're kindled and sacrifices were
made-not human sacrifices, but sacri-
ices to the fire. In one of these mounds
we found terra Gotta figures, beautifully
carved and perfect representations of
people in perfect attitude of rest, and
there was nothing to suggest action.
There were, besides, these stone of i'm
ages of fine shape. There were copper
pendants and thousands of copper beads.
Many earrings were found of copper COW
cred with native silver, and over G0,000
pearls. 1t seemed as if all the pearls Of
all the tribes had been cast upon this
altar. We have found these affairs in
several mounds, and sometimes we found
several affairs, SO you see many of the
great mounds were for other purposes
than burial
Having spoken of the mounds, the
speaker introduced the subject of the
serpe in Adams county. 1.-THE SER
pent. said he, 'swas worshiped by the
Mexicans and Peruvians, and it appar-
emily served some purpose among the an
Gent people Of Ohio. We have one rep
resentation of it in Adams county. It is
the only one on earth. 1T is partly of
stone, but principally of earth. :" The
speaker then described its size and gave
some facts concerning it which are
familiar to all people who have read his
tories of America or evun of ancient
Ohio. The property surrounding the SER
pent to the extent of sixty acres has been
purchased for the Peabody museum by
Boston ladies, and is now in the hands of
Professor Putnam, who has already made
some explorations into the mounds sur
rounding and adjacent to the serpent,
with very encouraging results. He, has
found in the mounds skeletons of peo-
pie who must have belonged to different
eras, whose bodies must have been laid
in the mound by people who were not
aware that mounds had been used by
other people for the same purpose before.
Professor Putnam hopes to make extern
sive explorations, from which he thinks
valuable facts concerning the mound
builders will be learned. = Cleveland
Herald.