Indians of North America -- Manitoba -- Antiquities; Manitoba -- Antiquities; Mound-builders -- Manitoba
Beginning on the crest of the mound, the mould was removed over a
considerable space, and though some trouble was found from the
presence of the roots of the growing trees, yet three or four feet
from the surface human bones and skeletons began to occur. In some
cases a complete skeleton was found, in other cases what seemed to be
a circle of skulls, buried alongside charred bones, fragments of
pottery and other articles. Several different excavations were made on
the mound surface, and it was found that every part from the base to
the crest contained bones and skeletons, to the depth of from six to
ten feet as already said; bones and articles of interest were found
thus far; deeper than this nothing. I shall now describe the articles
found in this mound, and refer in some cases to what has been found in
the other mounds of the Takawgamis.
NATURAL PRODUCTS.
1. _Bones_. Of the bones found, the skulls were the most interesting.
In some cases it would seem as if they alone of the bones had been
carried from a distance, perhaps from a distant part of the mound
builders' territory, from a battle field or some other spot. In some
cases this was proved, by the presence in the eye-sockets and cavities
of clay of a different kind from that of the mound, showing a previous
interment. The mound was plainly a sacred spot of the family or sept.
Before you are pieces of charred bone. Of the bones unburnt some were
of large size. There are before us two skulls, one from the grand
mound, the other from the Red River mound opened by the Society in
1879. The following are the measurements of the two skulls which I
have made carefully; and alongside the average measurements of the
Brachycephalic type given by Dr. Daniel Wilson, as well as of the
Dolichocephalic:
AVERAGE RAINY RED AVERAGE
DOLICHO- RIVER RIVER BRACHY-
CEPHALIC. SKULL. SKULL. CEPHALIC.
Longitudinal diameter 7.24 7.3 in 6.7 6.62
Parietal diameter 5.47 5.8 5.5 5.45
Vertical " 5.42 6.2 5.8 5.30
Frontal " 4.36 4.2 3.7 4.24
Intermastoid Arch 14.67 15.3 15.6 14.63
Intermastoid line 4.23 5.8 4.3 4.25
Occipito frontal Arch 14.62 17.0 13.8 13.85
Horizontal circumference 20.29 22.3 19.6 19.44
From this it will be seen that the Red River mound skulls agree with
the Toltecan Brachycephalic type; and the Rainy River skull while not
so distinctly Brachycephalic yet is considerably above the average of
the Dolichocephalic type.
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