Evening star., 1932-03-14

Prehistoric American Indian tribes
may have had their Village theaters." "
The ground plan of building which
might be reconstructed as a small the
ater. with two tiers of seats capable of
holding an audience of approximately
100, has been brought to light by ex-
cavations of an ancient Indian village
site in Mississippi by Henry B. Collins,
jr, Smithsonian Institution archeolo-
gist.
The ground plan does not fall so
easily into any other reconstruction
pattern. Pottery fragments found on
the site associate the building with some
prehistoric people rather than with any
Indian tribes in that part of the coun-
try during the era of white settlement.
Finds Circular Trenches.
Collins found under the plowed sur
face of a cotton field three concentric
circular trenches, in the bottom OF
which were post holes. The outer
trench, about 20 inches wide, contained
post holes for heavy timbers such as
might have been used to support a
flat roof on a large, circular house.
The two inner trenches contained holes
for smaller timbers. These might have
constituted additional roof supports,
which seems improbable, or they might
have been supports for tiers of seats.
This ground plan differs radically
from that of a Creek or Cherokee
town house" In the latter there was
peaked roof. supported at the center
by heavy timbers sunk in the ground
and on the outside by circle of lighter
timbers. The roof of the prehistoric
structure must have been fiat, since
= !, {c &ro IF fiyfnhnrC
In the center Of the ground plan was
a square outlined by four rows Of post
holes from to 8 inches in diameter
and to 16 inches apart. This might
have been the stage Also, in the in
terror were two fire pits. filled with
ashes and refuse. They may have been
used in religious ceremonies.
Offers Alternative Theory.
Collins offers an alternative to the
theater hypothesis In the explanation
that the same site may have been used
for four buildings at different times, the
floors of which arc represented by the
different rows of post holes. But the
fact remains, he says, "that the circular
trenches and the square are arranged
in such an orderly fashion as to suggest
a single structure, or possibly single
w
as part of a larger and more complex
structure"
1t is known that the later Creek and
Cherokee town houses were used for en-
tertainments. Some accounts state
that the Indian villagers used to gather
almost nightly for performances by
dancers and musicians. Light was fur
nished from the fire pits around which
the musicians would gather. This Gus
tom may have been extended far into
the past among the Indians Of the
lower Mississippi area whose culture
was one of the highest found in the New
World.
While announcing the facts Of his
curious find in bulletin of the United
States National Museum, Collins him
self offers only tentative explanations
The field of the Southeastern Indians.
he points out, is one of the most d1ffi-
cult for the archeologist who seeks to
reconstruct picture OF the life OF a
vanished people. All the buildings were
Of wood. Consequently not a trace OF
them is left. The archeologist Is guided
solely by tho descriptions Of early travel
ers. Moreover the land has been culti-
waited for centuries, and most of the
sites have been plowed over. In the
present case only the fact that the post
holes were sunk in fairly deep trenches,
below the depth reached by the plow
share, made it possible to locate them.
Because of these difficulties, Collins
says, most archaeological work in the