File:Image from page 340 of "Bulletin" (1901).jpg

English: Title: METHOD OF EXHUMING A HUMAN SKELETON

Identifier: bulletin3011907smit Year: 1901 (1900s) Authors: Smithsonian Institution. Bureau of American Ethnology Subjects: Ethnology Publisher: Washington : G. P. O. Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book

Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image: BULL. 30] COLLECTING 323 the following points are essential: (1) Accurate location of the site on a map; (2) photographs of site; (3) plan, with measurement of areas to be worked; (4) stakes or datum marks placed; (5) re- moval of debris and location of specimens with reference to datum marks with the aid of camera and pencil; (6) field mmi- bers on specimens and references to these numbers in the notebook; (7) care of specimens after collecti(jn. Mounds are explored by means of trenches and then stripped of the upper part, which rarely contains anything of importance, but the contour of the mound is noted and one or more sections plotted. When the zone of deposits is reached a layer of earth is removed. The aspect of skeletons and other objects exposed is recorded and photographed and their po- sition marked. Village sites near mounds are prolific in material illustrating the life of the former oi-cupants. In the alluvial soil of the prairie states, wherever mounds abound such sites may be located by sounding the earth with an iron rod. The earth i.'-! then stripped off as in a mound, or it may Vje found preferable to excavate by "benching." The top soil of a cave should be searched, calcareous deposits, if there be any, broken up and removed, and the underlying soil benched and thrown back, as in a mound. Specimens from different levels below the datum stakes or marks are kept separate. A i)relimi- nary exploration of the cave floor is some- times made by means of test pits. It will be found usually that the front of a cave in the zone of illumination yields most material, and it is essential to examine the talus outside the mouth of a cave if any exists. The site of an ancient pueblo is first searched for surface relics, and the ceme- tery is located. It is customary to ascer- tain the limits of the cemetery l)y test excavations and to work it by trenches, throwing the earth back and carefully examining it for small artifacts as the ex- cavation progresses. On account of the unproductiveness of excavation in rooms and the great labor and expense required to remove the debris, no puelilos have been thoroughly explored. Generally a few living rooms and kivas only have beeTi investigated. No indication or object is insignificant. In turning up the soil around ancient habitations a decayed fragment of cloth, a wooden implement, or any relic of or- ganic material may extend knowledge. The various offal of debris heaps, such as bones of animals, shells, and seeds, are secured, and an endeavor is made to ob- serve, collect, and record everything that is brought to light. Every site under examination demands attention, not merely for what it may yield in tangible results; the environment, with its l)iolog- ical and geological resources, topography, and meteorology, requires to be studied. Notes and collections relating to this subject add much to the clearness of an appreciation of the conditions which ai(led or hampered the develo{)ment of culture in a given locality. The relation of sites one to another, and the grouping or separation of sites in a locality, are necessary subjects of incjuiry, as are the presence or absence in a neighborhood of springs, trails, shrines, detached houses, canals and reservoirs, and i)ictographs. Su)natol()f/!/.—Human remains are fre- quently encountered in archeologic work, and such material is carefully collected, every bone ])eing saved if possible. The surface of hard ground may be broken with a pick and the excavation continued with a shovel. As soon as any part of the human skeleton is reached, a short

Text Appearing After Image: ETHOD OF EXHUMING A HUMAN SKELETON. (w. C. MILLs) stick, a trowel, and a stiff brush are used for exposing the bones. Often the bones are fragile and should not be lifted out until the earth has been loosened around them. Exposure to sunlight and dry air usually hardens them. The bones of each skeleton should be marked with serial numbers, preferably with an ani- line pencil, and ])acked in some light, elastic material. It is better to pack skulls apart from the rest of the bones. The collection of somatological data on the living requires familiarity with the use of instruments, a knowledge of anat- omy and physiology, and some training in la])oratory work. Etiinolog!/.—In this wide field it is necessary to specialize in order to produce effective results. Social organization, customs, language, arts, folklore, and re- ligion each demands adequate time and the closest attention for its study. With the aid of a manual, like "Notes and Queries," used by the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain, the important

Note About Images

Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.