Burial Mounds of the Northern Sections of the United States — A Reader’s Guide

There were no sarcophagi or coffins, and in all cases the heads pointed towards the west.[6]

In some instances the mound contained a circular stone wall, within which a pit had been dug to the depth of 2 or 3 feet in the original soil, as, for example, the one near Waukesha, described by Dr. Lapham.[7]

A mound in Crawford County, opened by Colonel Norris, one of the Bureau assistants, in 1882, shows a similar vault or pit, but differs from the preceding in being distinctly stratified and wanting the stone wall. The construction of this tumulus and the mode of burial in it were as follows:

Proceeding from the top downwards, there was first a layer of soil and sand about 1 foot thick; next, nearly 2 feet in depth of calcined human bones, without order, mingled with which were charcoal, ashes, and a reddish-brown mortar-like substance, burned as hard as pavement brick. This layer is numbered 4 in the annexed cut (Fig. 4), which represents a vertical section of the mound. Immediately below this was a layer about 1 foot thick (No. 3) of clay or mortar mixed with sand, burned to a brick-red color. Below this, in the space marked 2 in the cut, were found the bones of fifteen or twenty individuals, in a confused heap, without order or arrangement. Mingled with these were fire-brands, charcoal, and ashes. The bones were charred, some of them to charcoal, and some were glazed with melted sand. The mass appears to have been first covered with soft clay-mortar, which ran into and filled the spaces, and the burning to have been done afterwards by means of brush or wood heaped on the top, as among the bones were lumps of hard burned clay.

The bottom of this layer corresponded with the original surface of the ground, but the excavation being continued, a circular vault or pit, 6 feet in diameter, was found extending downwards, with perpendicular sides, to the depth of nearly 3 feet. The bottom of this pit was covered to the depth of an inch with fine chocolate-colored dust. Although the filling of this pit was chiefly sand, there was a cavity at the bottom a foot high in the center, over which the sand filling was arched as shown in the figure.

It is evident that the skeletons in this mound were buried after the flesh had been removed, as we can on no other supposition explain the fact that the clay or mortar had filled the interstices between the bones, and that in some cases it had even penetrated into the skulls.

Another mound, opened by Colonel Norris in the same neighborhood, presented some peculiarities worthy of notice, although not sufficient to mark it as belonging to a distinct type.

According to his report, the southern portion had previously been explored by Judge Branson, who found at the base some six or eight skeletons lying stretched out horizontally, and covered by a dry, light-colored mortar which must have been spread over them while in a soft condition, as it had run between the bones and encased them, and in some cases, as in the mound just described, filled the skulls. As only the southern portion had been opened he removed the remainder. The dried mortar-like substance was very hard and difficult to dig through, but the pick soon struck some rough, flat limestone rocks which proved to be parts of a rude wall about 3 feet high and 8 feet long, built on the natural surface of the ground. In the opposite side of the mound, 12 feet distant from and parallel with it, was another similar wall. Between them and on the natural surface of the ground, side by side, were a number of skeletons lying flat and lengthwise and parallel with the walls. A vertical section of this mound is shown in Fig. 5. The little circles at the bottom between the walls indicate the heads of the skeletons; No. 4, the layer of mortar over the bones; 3, a layer of hard clay mixed with ashes; 2, a layer of clay; and 1, the top covering of sand and soil about 18 inches thick. Before being disturbed this mound was 35 feet in diameter and 6 feet high.

As it is evident that the burials in this case were made at one time, and as the mortar-like substance had run into the interstices, it is more than probable that the skeletons were deposited after the flesh had been removed.

The following description of a mound with a single original and several intrusive burials is also taken from Colonel Norris' notes of work in Crawford County: