Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 16.djvu/630

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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.

fragments of a hard, blue, unglazed pottery were found; and these fragments are identical with vessels dug up in various parts of the empire, which are regarded by Japanese archæologists as being of Corean origin, from nine to twelve hundred years old.

At the same meeting of the Boston Society of Natural History in which I communicated the results embodied in this paper, Professor F. W. Putnam announced the discovery of chambered mounds in

Fig. 7.—Showing Arrangement of Stones in Sidewall of Chamber. Length, 14 feet; height, 11 feet 6 inches. The dotted line to the right shows roof of passageway.

America, and communicated the following, which is taken from advance sheets of the "Proceedings" of that Society:

These chambered mounds are situated in the eastern part of Clay County, Missouri, and form a large group on both sides of the Missouri River. The chambers are, in the three opened by Mr. Curtiss, about eight feet square, and from four and a half to five feet high, each chamber having a passageway several feet in length and two in width, leading from the southern side, and opening on the edge of the mound formed by covering the chamber and passageway with earth. The walls of the chambered passages were about two feet thick, vertical, and well made of stones which were evenly laid, without clay or mortar of any kind. The top of one of the chambers had a covering of large, flat rocks, but the others seem to have been closed over with wood. The chambers were filled with clay which had been burned, and appeared as if it had fallen in from above. The inside walls of the chambers also showed signs of fire. Under the burned clay, in each chamber, were found the remains of several human skeletons, all of which had been burned to such an extent as to leave but small fragments of the bones, which were mixed with the ashes and charcoal. Mr. Curtiss thought that in one chamber he found the remains of five skeletons and in another thirteen. With these skeletons there were a few flint implements and minute fragments of vessels of clay.