Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 50.djvu/506

488 hardly any trace of regularity in the interments further than this: the bodies were buried singly and, roughly speaking, in an irregular double circle about the center of the rancheria; they were also buried without previous mutilation or separation, each skeleton being complete. This is again a piece of negative evidence going to prove that cannibalism was not practiced within the tribe; nor in our excavations were any human bones found broken for marrow, or in any situation indicating that they formed a part of the food supply for the Robles Rancheria. Layers of ashes and bits of charcoal were found irregularly throughout every excavation made for a skeleton, but since they were also found throughout the length of a trench run toward the center of the mound, we concluded that they had no special connection with the burial, although it must be added that a few skeletons showed traces of partial burning.

The posture of the buried Indians is shown by Fig. 2, from a photograph taken before the skeleton was removed. This posture is common among our North American Indians, and results apparently from the attempt to compress the body into the smallest possible space for burial. Each skeleton excavated showed traces of this posture, except the irregular group to the southwest of the mound, where the bones were found in a very confused state, and where one large and complete skeleton was found interred at full length on its back. No traces of any covering for the body were discovered. Among the skeletons removed one of exceptional interest was very carefully taken out by Mr. Edward Hughes. It was the skeleton of a very old Indian, whose vertebræ had grown together so as to cause a terrible