The Prehistoric World; Or, Vanished RacesAllen, Emory Adams
History
The Prehistoric World; Or, Vanished Races
Allen, Emory Adams
Archaeology; Indians; Prehistoric peoples
Scattered through Ohio, but especially abundant in the northern
part of the State, is a class of works which has excited
considerable comment. This cut illustrates a work of this kind.
It was located near where Cleveland now stands. The defense
consists mainly in the location. The wall seems to have been
rather of a secondary affair. The hill was too steep to admit
approach to it except from the rear, where the double wall was
placed. With both of these works a ditch was dug outside the
wall. These works did not always consist simply of fortified
headlands. This cut is of a portion of the works formerly
existing near Norwalk, Ohio. The circular work, D, is shaped much
like the sacred inclosures, though not on so large a scale. In
the larger work, at B, we notice a truncated mound. The ditch is
on the outside of the circles. This cut is of a work formerly on
the banks of the Black River. Here we have a square inclosure,
defended by two embankments and a ditch.
Square Inclosure, Northern Ohio.
This class of works was formerly common not only in Ohio and
Western New York, but they were also to be observed in other
sections of the country. They existed alike in the valley of the
two Miami Rivers, and in that of the Scioto. They were also found
throughout the South. Even Wisconsin, the home of the effigy
Mound Builders, is not destitute of this class of remains. The
peculiar interest attaching to them arises from the fact that in
some places, at least, we have good reason to assign their
construction to Indian tribes. Those of Western New York were
very thoroughly studied by Mr. Squier. When he commenced his
investigations, he was under the impression that he was dealing
with the remains of a people very similar, at least, to those who
built the massive works in the Ohio Valley and elsewhere, but he
was led to the conviction that they were the works of the
Iroquois Indians, and as further proof that such was the case, we
are told that since the palisades that once inclosed places known
to be villages of the Iroquois have disappeared, there is no
difference to be observed between the appearance of the ruins of
such a village site and any of the earthworks in Western New
York. But we have just stated that the remains last mentioned are
identical with those found in Northern Ohio, and indeed over a
wide extent of country. The conclusion seems to be, then, that
one large class of works in many points resembling Mound
Builders’ works, found widely distributed throughout the
Mississippi Valley, were really the works of Indians.75 But we
are approaching a subject we do not wish to discuss just yet. We
simply point out that not all the remains of prehistoric people
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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