SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONSVOLUME 99. NUMBER 15
EVIDENCE OF EARLY INDIAN OCCUPANCYNEAR THE PEAKS OF OTTER,BEDFORD COUNTY,VIRGINIA(With Five Plai
BY
^jjs^w^nii^^ ^^JAl^ If^
^^/Ct LfBRA«lDAVID I. BUSHNELL, jR.Collaborator in Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution
(Publication 3601)
CITY OF WASHINGTONPUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTIONDECEMBER 23, 1940


SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 99, NO. 15, PL. 1
I. The site, partly graded, showing Flat Top in the distance.
2. The site in the foreground with the slope of Sharp Top I)eyond.Views of the Mons Site between the Peaks of Otter
SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONSVOLUME 99, NUMBER IS
EVIDENCE OF EARLY INDIAN OCCUPANCYNEAR THE PEAKS OF OTTER,BEDFORD COUNTY,VIRGINIA(With Five Plates)
BYDAVID I. BUSHNELL, jR.C(ilIal)oratoi- in Anthro]ii)loKy, Smithsonian Institution
(Publication 3601)
CITY OF WASHINGTONPUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTIONDECEMBER 23, 1940
BALTIMORE, MB., U. 8. A.
EVIDENCE OF EARLY INDIAN OCCUPANCY NEAR THEPEAKS OF OTTER, BEDFORD COUNTY, VIRGINIABy DAVID I. BUSHNELL, Jr.Collaborator in Anthropology, Smithsonian histifution(With Five Plates)Bedford County, in the southwestern part of Virginia, extendsfrom the James River on the north to the Roanoke River on thesouth. The southeastern part of the county is comparatively level,but beyond, toward the north and west, it is crossed by the BlueRidge with the Peaks of Otter rising near its northern boundary.It is a region of great natural beauty, with innumerable springs andstreams. The mountain slopes are covered with forests of pine andhemlock, and many varieties of trees and plants are encounteredthroughout the area. Wild game was formerly plentiful in all partsof the county, but during the past few years the larger animals havebecome less numerous.The Peaks of Otter, which rise in the extreme northern part ofBedford County, were, before the discovery of the country farwestward, thought to be among the highest on the continent. Thisbelief was suggested by Jetiferson ^ when he wrote (p. i8) :The mountains of the Blue ridge, and of these the Peaks of Otter, arethought to be of a greater height, measured from their base, than any othersin the country, and perhaps in North America. From data, which may sound atolerable conjecture, we suppose the highest peak to be about 4000 feetperpendicular The ridge of mountains next beyond the Blue ridge, calledby us the North mountain, is of the greatest extent ; for which reason they werenamed by the Indians the Endless mountains.The two peaks are now known as Sharp Top and Flat Top. Asstated by the United States Geological Survey, the elevation of theformer is 3,875 feet, and of the latter 4,001 feet, which proves theaccuracy of Jefferson's "conjecture."There is sufficient evidence now available to suggest that man hadoccupied or frequented the region for generations, and it is thoughtthat a careful examination of certain restricted areas near the Peaksof Otter will tend to substantiate the belief that the region surround-
^ Jefferson, Thomas, Notes on the State of Virginia. Philadelphia, 1788.Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 99, No. 15
SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL.ing the peaks had l^een occupied and reoccupied by native tribes forcountless centuries—since the first nomadic bands entered the vastwilderness.Ancient trails traversed the country. A trail coming from the westis known to have followed up the valley of the North Fork of Goose
Fig. I.—A section of the Bedford sheet, reconnaissance map, United StatesGeological Survej-. The location of the Mons site is indicated just north of thePeak, or Sharp Top.Creek and to have continued through Powell Gap. Another trailmay have led from Powell Gap to the valley of Little Stony Creek,between the two peaks.A map of the region now being considered is shown in figure i.This is a detail of the Bedford sheet, reconnaissance map. UnitedStates Geological Survey.During protohistoric and early historic times Siouan and Iroquoiantribes are believed to have lived within the bounds of the present
NO. 15 PEAKS OF OTTER—BUSH NELL 3Bedford County. Later, in 1670. the village of the Nah3-ssan. aSiouan trihe, was in or near the southern part of the county when itwas visited hy Lederer." The exact location of the settlement willbe difficult to determine. Lederer's text is vague and uncertain, andconsequently not easy to follow^ but according to his crudely drawnmap the tribe was established on the right bank of a river, probablythe Roanoke or Staunton. Swanton has traced the movements of theNahyssan, Saponi. and Tutelo, when they may have traversed part ofthe county.^In 1846 Schoolcraft recorded an old Cherokee tradition, told bya member of the tribe, that a Cherokee village had formerly stoodnear the Peaks of Otter. However that may be, it is evident thatthe region had attracted the native hunters from remote times andthat it had been occupied by tribes of different stocks, possibly withcenturies intervening between the periods of occupation. But it isnot possible to state with accuracy the sequence of movements oftribes, and it is a fallacy to apply dates to any tribal migrations orsettlements in the Mississippi \"alley and eastward before the begin-ning of the historic era.Swanton has suggested the possibility that the word Otter, as nowapplied to the two peaks and the streams, was derived from theCherokee Atari or Ottari, translated mountain or high hill. The beliefthat this may be true is strengthened by the tradition that the Cherokeeonce occupied a village in the vicinity of the Peaks of Otter. Placenames bestowed and used by the Cherokee may have persisted untilafter the coming of the first European settlers by whom the Indianname Ottari would, it is easily conceived, have been rendered Otter.All this, however, is purely hypothetical.THE MONS SITEEarly in the spring of 1940 work in connection with the extensionof the Skyline Drive, in the vicinity of the Peaks of Otter, exposedthe site of an ancient Indian settlement. This was partly on thegrounds of the recently demolished resort hotel. Hotel Mons, andfor that reason the site will be designated the Mons site.*
^ Lederer, John, The discoveries of ... . Begun in March 1669 and ended inSeptember 1670. London, 1672. Reprint 1902.
^ Swanton, John R., Early history of the eastern Siouan tribes. /;; Essays inanthropology in honor of Alfred Louis Kroeber, Univ. California, 1936.
* I am indebted to the Rev. William Clarkson Marshall and R. L. Updike,of Bedford, for assistance and advice when we visited the site on July 10, 1940.The latter had written on April 21 : "I have just returned from the site between
4 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 99The site is a little west of north of Sharp Top, near several smallbranches that are the sources of Sheep Creek and Little Stony Creek.It is mostly surrounded by higher ground, and consequently a villageor camp standing here in the midst of the dense primeval forest wouldhave been secluded and well protected. Two views of the site, orrather part of it, are shown in plate i.^ Both were made from thesame point, on the north side of the course of the Skyline Drive,which is to be seen, partly graded, in the foreground. Rev. WilliamC. Marshall, Dr. Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr., and the writer visitedthe site on October 15 in an endeavor to determine the extent ofthe occupied area, but this proved to be impossible as the surfaceremained thickly covered with grass and brush. However, it couldbe traced far beyond both sides of the new roadway and is evidentlyrather extensive, being crossed by two small branches and havingseveral springs issuing from beneath the higher ground by whichmuch of the site is bordered.Many types of stone artifacts were exposed during the removalof the top soil. Some pieces appear to be, and probably are, mucholder than others, but as all came from the surface or not more thana few inches below the sod line, it is not possible to determine therelative position or sequence of the various forms. The land hadformerly been cultivated, which would have caused any material thatmay have accumulated in heaps in or about that part of the occupiedarea to become scattered and intermixed.The artifacts recovered from that part of the site through whichthe new roadway passes, and from the adjacent land, include flake-knives and scra^Ders, projectile points and other small flaked objects
;
larger scrapers and several forms of edged implements ; axlikeimplements, some with and others without a groove ; pebbles usedas hammers and others which may have served as pestles. Fragmentsof steatite vessels and small bits of earthenware were encounteredin the disturbed soil. Two Folsom points have been found on thesite mingled with the other material.
the Peaks of Otter .... The construction gang on the Skyline Drive are nowworking in this little valley, and the sod and grass has been stripped for thewidth of the drive for the entire length of the valley. During the past weekthere has been much rain, and every uncovered point and chip of stone standsout, easily identified." Many of the specimens described and illustrated on thefollowing pages were collected by Updike on April 21, 1940, and others werefound during different visits to the site.
^ The photographs were made by R. L. Updike, June ly, 1940.
NO. 15 PEAKS OF OTTER BUSHNELL 5Quantities of flakes of many varieties of stone are found through-out the area, also many fractured pehbles, indicating that work hadbeen done at the site. The stones *' include argillite, metamorphosedrhyolite. feldspar porphyry, felsite, quartz, quartzites, chalcedony,jaspers, and cherts. Several rounded pieces of sandstone that hadserved as hammerstones were found, but no fragments of the stonewere discovered.Pebbles and boulders ex]^x)sed in the stream beds, and on hillsides,obviously supplied the stone used in fashioning the great majorityof objects now found scattered over the site. Soapstone, argillite,and sandstone had been brought in, though not necessarily from agreat distance.Examples of the stone artifacts and fragments of earthenwarevessels found on the Mons site are illustrated and may be brieflydescribed
:
Plate 2.—The occurrence of a large number of flakeknives andsmall scrapers is the more interesting and important inasmuch assimilar objects are seldom found in Virginia. The flakeknives rangein size from those less than an inch in length to others somewhatlonger than the four specimens shown in the top row. All are thinflakes struck from a mass and do not reveal any secondary chipping.The one on the left, top row, is made of yellow or brownish mottledjasper ; the next two, dark chert ; and the larger specimen on theright, moss-agate. Others found with these were made of quartzand quartzite. The sketch of a, in figure 2, shows the curvature ofthe flake and the bulb of percussion at the bottom. The edges of allare slightly roughened or serrated, the result of use.A few specimens, represented by h and c, suggest a composite knifeand scraper, having two edges well defined and both showing theefifect of use. Other specimens, obviously scrapers and not knives,are short and broad at the worked edge. Examples of this type areshown in d, e, and /.All were probably employed for various purposes, although certainforms were undoubtedly better suited for some particular use thanwere others.Plate J.—Various types of projectile points, and small flaked ob-jects of unknown use found on the site are illustrated in this plate.Specimens a. All are made of white quartz, so plentiful in partsof Virginia, and which was used extensively in making projectile
° Identified by W. F. Foshag and E. P. Henderson, Department of Geology,U. S. National ]\Iuseum.
6 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 99
points and other small implements. The forms recovered from theMons site are similar to others found on widely separated areas inpiedmont and tidewater Virginia. As the surface of quartz is notaltered by exposure to the natural elements through the centuries,it is not possible to judge the comparative age of the specimens bytheir appearance. Some pieces may be centuries older than others,though all appear the same.Specimens h. Small points made of jasper, chert, quartz, and otherstone. Part of a perforator is shown at the left in the upper row.Several specimens in this row are made of a banded flint that resemblesthe stone obtained at Flint Ridge, Licking County, Ohio, and it is
Fig. 2.—Sketches of six specimens of flakeknives and scrapers illustrated inplate 2, showing the thickness and curvature of the flakes, i natural size.believed to have been derived from that source. The three piecesat the right in the lower row, all made of chert, are of a type seldomfound in Virginia. Concerning these particular specimens Updikestated in a note addressed to me
:
Many points from this site have broad bases and deep notches, by thesecharacteristics differing from those found on other sites in Bedford County.So far as I know, these are not found in any other location in this county.These specimens, with deep side notches, are similar to many foundin McLean County, Kentucky, recently described and illustrated.They are of a distinctive and specialized type. The sites where thepoints were encountered were assigned, by the discoverers,'' "to theoldest horizon in Kentucky." These were evidently the "Round Gravepeople" of other narratives. Although it will be conceded that these
'Webb, Wm. S., and Hagg, Wm. G., Cypress Creek villages, sites 11 and 12,McLean County, Kentucky. Univ. Kentucky, Reports in Anthrop., vol. 4,No. 2, fig. 20, March 1940.
SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 99, NO. 15, PL. 2
SPECIMENS FROM THE MONS SITE. FLAKEKNIVES AND SCRAPERSNatural size. U.S.N.M. No. 382135.
SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 99, NO. 15, PL. 3
^^ VHH^P --^^^P^f^t
Specimens from the Mons Site. Projectile Points and OtherSmauu Flaked Objectsi natural size, a, U.S.N.M. No. 382136; b, U.S.N.M. No. 382137;c, U.S.N.M. No. 382138.
SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 99, NO. 15, PL. 4
Mm' ^
Specimens from the Mons Site, upper, Projectiue Points orBlades. Lower. Scrapers and edged Implementsi natural size. Upper, U.S.N.M. No. 382139; lower, U.S.N.M. No. 382140.
SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 99, NO. 15, PL. 5
specimens from the mons site. above. seven flaked implements.Below, Five Pebbles Showing the Effect of Usei natural size.
NO. 15 PEAKS OF OTTER BUSHNELL 7
specimens are very old, it is believed that even earlier material hasbeen found in Kentucky.The seven pieces forming the row beginning with c are made ofschists.Specimen c. This is a Folsom point made of quartz schist. Thestone is a very dark gray, approaching black, as revealed by a smallfracture, but the surface is now altered to a light gray color throughlong exposure to the natural elements. The three specimens to theright of c are similarly altered. Next beyond are two pieces that havebecome so greatly weathered that their surfaces are smoothed andevidence of flaking is scarcely discernible. The long specimen on theright is less deeply altered than the preceding, though the surfaceof the dark gray stone has now changed to. a very light greenish gray.Specimens d. Six specimens made of argillite. The surfaces ofall are altered, some to a greater degree than others. The piece onthe lower left, a side scraper, is similar to specimens discovered onthe site of the ancient Algonquin village of Pissaseck, in Westmore-land County, on the left bank of the Rappahannock River.^ It alsoresembles specimens belonging to the so-called argillite culture, dis-covered on sites in the Delaware valley. The source of the argillitehas not been discovered, but it may have been not far from the site.Although a few scattered projectile points and other small objectsmade of argillite have been found frequently on village sites in Vir-ginia, I have never before encountered them in such large numbers,nor have they been found to constitute so large a proportion of allthe material gathered from a site as here. Quantities of flakes andsmall broken pieces of the stone are scattered over the site, thus prov-ing that the stone had been fashioned into projectile points, scrapers,or knives near where such pieces were discovered.Specimen c. A crudely flaked object of felsite. The surface isweathered to a light brownish color.Specimens f. Two pieces made of a very dark or black quartzite.It is very fine grained, and the surfaces of both are now altered toa light brownish gray, with darker bands.Obviously the i6 specimens just mentioned are very old, and someof them may have belonged to the earliest occupants of the valley.Plate 4.—Nine examples of points made of a variety of stones areillustrated in the upper part of the plate. The surfaces of all aregreatly weathered. At the left is a well-flaked specimen made of
* Bushnell, David I., Jr., Indian sites below the Falls of the Rappahannock,Virginia. Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 96, No. 4, pi. 3, p. 19, 1937.
8 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 99dark diabase ; however, the surface is now rough and decomposedand is altered to a greenish color. \'ery few objects made of diabaseappear to have been found on the site.In the lower part of the plate are shown several forms of scrapersand edged implements made of chert and quartzite. At the top arefour scrapers with concave cutting edges. Three are made of quartz-ite, and one, the smallest, is made of chert. A similar piece madeof white quartz is illustrated in plate 3, o. The large specimen inthe center is not more than 5/16 inch thick. It is made of a thinpiece of dark grayish quartzite, and the lower edge had been sharpenedby the removal of flakes from both sides. This may have been usedas a knife with the upper part inserted in a handle made of wood orantler.The two larger specimens at the bottom of the plate are spallsstruck from quartzite pebbles or boulders. The natural surfaces areshown in the photographs, but they are weathered on all sides. Theedges of both pieces are worn and battered from use. Both are thickand would have been used as hand tools, not hafted.Plate 5.—Examples of the larger implements, many of which havebeen found on the site, are illustrated.Above are seven flaked objects, all of which had probably beenhafted and used as weapons or tools. All are made of quartzite ofdifferent texture and color.Specimen a, with unusually deep notches, is made of a black, fine-grained quartzite like that of the three pebbles, d, and the implementmay have been fashioned from a similar pebble. The sharp edge ofa, part of w4iich is missing, is shown at the bottom in the photograph.It is an interesting, crudely made piece.The two smaller specimens, b, c, are made of a light-colored quartz-ite, and the surfaces of both are deeply weathered ; however, thesurfaces of the larger specimens above have not changed since theflakes were removed. This condition may indicate a great dififerencein the age of the specimens.Below are five natural pebbles, all of which had been used. Thethree black quartzite pebbles, d, have battered edges, evidently causedby use. They would have been useful for many purposes in andabout the camp. The long specimen on the left may have been usedas a pestle. The small specimen, e, is made of a reddish sandstoneand is slightly pitted on opposite sides. The larger hammerstonebelow £' is a natural quartzite pebble, gray in color though the exposedsurface is somewhat darker, as shown in the photograph. The edgeis battered, and the stone is roughly pitted on opposite sides.
NO. 15 PEAKS OF OTTER—BUSHNELL 9The specimens illustrated in this plate do not present any unusualfeatures. Obviously they belonged to more than one period ofoccupancy. FOLSOM POINTSSmall points or blades of the type now known as Folsom pointshave been found in Virginia and elsewhere in the eastern UnitedStates. They constitute a very distinctive group, and although theyclosely resemble the Folsom points occurring in the northern partof Colorado as discovered by Roberts," and found in other localitiesboth north and south, they are not identical in all details. Many ofthe eastern points are longer in proportion to their width than arethe western specimens, and often lack the long channel flakes, passingfrom the concave base and extending down both sides, which consti-tute one of the characteristic features of the western points ; however,some of the pieces found in the East possess this feature. Never-theless, one detail is common to all specimens from both East andWest—the smoothing of the edge of the concave base and of theedges for a distance of an inch or more beyond the base. For whatreason or by what means this was accomplished is not known, butit is always apparent and must have been done intentionally.Beautiful examples of eastern Folsom points have been foundin and near Bedford County ; however, with the exception of twospecimens all have been found separate from other material, on ahillside or in a field where no traces of a camp or village were dis-covered. The same condition is believed to apply to the occurrenceof all similar specimens wherever encountered, in Virginia or else-where. Examples of Folsom points may have been found previouslyon village sites or associated with burials in the East, but if so wehave been unable to learn of such discoveries.The two examples of Folsom points known definitely to have beenfound on the site of an ancient settlement, in contact with otherartifacts, were discovered on the Alons site. One specimen, a frag-ment of a point, is shown full size in figure 3. The entire finishededge of the fragment is smoothed, a characteristic feature, and thewhole surface is smooth and glossy. Obviously the point was brokenafter it had been finished and possibly used. It is made of a ratherlight gray chert. Many small fiakes of the same stone are scatteredthrough the soil on the site.
* Roberts, Frank H. H., Jr., A Folsom complex : Preliminary report oninvestigations at the Lindenmeier site in Northern Colorado. Smithsonian Misc.Coll., vol. 94, No. 4, June 20, 1935.
10 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 99The second example of a Folsom point from the Mons site isilkistrated half size in plate 3, c. I found this specimen during a visitto the site on Septemher 5. 1940, at the edge of the surface cutaway in grading the Skyline Drive, on the north side and less than50 }ards from where the fragment shown in figure 3 was discoveredseveral years ago/** It is made of a very dark quartz schist with thesurface now weathered to a light gray. It has been fractured intwo places, as indicated by the dotted lines added on the photograph.
Fig. 3.—Folsom points. Above, fragment made of gray chert, found on theMons site. Below, specimen made of red jasper, found in the valley about 2 milessouth of the Mons site. Natural size.The fractured surfaces are altered to the same degree as is the balanceof the exposed surface of the stone. Although the entire specimenis worn from exposure, it is still possible to detect the smoothed edgeof the concave base and the smoothed edges extending down the sidesfrom the base, one of the curious features of all points of this type.The specimen is crude when compared with many other examplesfound in Virginia, but the stone of which it was made was difficultto work and a channel flake could not have been removed, as wouldhave been possible had it been made of chalcedony or jasper. Though
" This was found by R. L. Updike, with whom I again visited the site onSeptember 5, 1940.
NO. 15 PEAKS OF OTTER—BUSHNELL II
less finished than many pieces, it is interesting as coming from a sitethat had been occupied from remote times.An excellent example of a Folsom point was found a few yearsago on a rocky hillside, in the valley of Little Stony Creek, about2 miles southeast of the Mons site. The specimen is shown full sizein figure 3. It is made of a dark red jasper, now worn smooth. Along channel flake had been removed from the side shown in thephotograph, a feature more clearly defined in this than in mostspecimens from Virginia. A shorter flake had been taken from theother side. Small flakes of red jasper, similar to the stone of whichthe point was made, have been found on the site.Other points of ecjual interest have been found in Bedford County,though at a greater distance from the Mons site.SOAPSTONE VESSELSSeveral pieces of soapstone or steatite vessels have been found onthe site. One fragment is a handle that had extended from nearthe rim of a vessel. The vessel appears to have been rather large,and it had become smoothed and worn from long use. The surfacesof the pieces of stone are pitted and disintegrated, and all are of alight gray color. The stone was probably obtained at the quarry inthe southeastern part of Bedford County, between Little Otter andBig Otter Rivers. Many broken, unfinished vessels have been col-lected from the surface of the quarry workshop," but the quarry hasnot been carefully examined.Many ancient soapstone quarries occur in Virginia. The first tobe discovered and recognized as having been worked by Indians wasat Chula, Amelia County. It was described in the SmithsonianReport for 1878, and soon others became known. The period towhich the c[uarries should be attributed has not been determined.There are no accounts of Europeans' witnessing the use of soapstoneutensils by the Indians of Virginia, and relatively few fragments ofsuch pieces are encountered on the sites of native villages. However,the vast number of vessels broken and abandoned at the quarriesproves that many had l)een made and used.POTTERYFragments of pottery are found scattered through the soil, but allare very small and greatly decomposed. Five specimens are shownnatural size in figure 4.
" Bushnell, David I., Jr., The use of soapstone by the Indians of the EasternUnited States. /;; Ann. Rep. Smithsonian Inst, for 1939, p. 471, 1940.
12 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 99Specimens a. 1 believe the impressions on the outside are of coiledbasketry and that these specimens are of the earliest type of earthen-ware encountered in the Middle Atlantic region. A few pieces ofsimilar ware have been found on widely separated sites. I^xampleswere discovered by Harrington ^' in the upper valley of the Ten-nessee associated with material that belonged to the Round (iravepeople, the earliest of three distinct cultures encountered in that area,the last and most recent of which were the historic Cherokee. The
Fk;. 4-—Fragments of pottery from tlie Mons site.Natural size. U.S.N.M. No. 382141.two sherds, a, are very hard, dark throughout, and contain a smallamount of qtiartz sand. The latter may have occurred in the claynaturally rather than having been added as tempering material.Specimen h resembles the two preceding pieces in being very hardand dark in color, but a coarse sand or crushed quartz had evidentlybeen added to the clay. The impression of coarsely twisted cordsappears on the surface. The three pieces thus far mentioned arebelieved to have belonged to the same early period.Specimens c, d , are fragments of coiled ware. Both are of areddish brown color, hard and compact. The upper piece, c, is part
" Harrington, M. R.. Cherokee and earlier remains on Upper Tennessee River.Mus. Amer. Indian, New York, 1922.
NO. 15 PEAKS OF OTTER—BUSH NELL 1
3
of the rim of a vessel, and alth(jugh it suggests a bowl of largediameter, it is less than 1/5 inch thick. It bears on the outer surfacethe impressions of very finely twisted cords, passing in two directionsand continuing over the top. The clay contains a large amount ofvery fine grit, which may have been natural, and also some largerpieces of crushed quartz. The lower edge, as shown in the photo-graph, is a concave surface extending the entire length of the sherdand is the bottom of a coil of clay applied when building up the wallof the vessel.The lower specimen, d, resembles fragments of several vesselsrecovered from sites on the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers. Theimpression of a net is clearly defined ; however, some of the strands,those on the extreme left, are not twisted but are straight. Thesemay have been sinew or some vegetal material, but the greaterpart of the sherd is similar in appearance to some found at SkinkersFord on the Rapidan," which are believed to bear the impression ofa textile woven entirely of loosely twisted cords made of the hairof the bison or of some other animal.Among the bits of pottery found scattered over the site are severalothers bearing faint impressions of nets and some of single twistedcords, but the two specimens, a, are the only examples of the earlyware bearing the impression of basketry. The latter are differentfrom all others ; they are harder and darker in color and are lessdisintegrated although believed to be the oldest. The surfaces ofother small sherds are so greatly weathered and worn that it is nolonger possible to distinguish any markings that may originally havebeen on the outer surfaces. Some bits may be fraginents of smoothvessels that were never marked by cords or nets. Better examplesof all types of earthenware may be preserved beneath the surfaceof the site. CONCLUSIONThe variety of objects found at the Mons site should be acceptedas evidence that it had been frequented by man from the earliesttimes, and beneath its surface may be hidden conclusive proof thatmakers of Folsom points once occupied the valley.As previously mentioned, certain material recovered from the site—projectile points and fragmentary pottery—is similar to thatattributed to the Round Grave people of parts of Kentucky and Ten-nessee. In the former region these were regarded as belonging "to
" Bushnell, David I., Jr., The Manahoac tribes in Virginia, 1608. SmithsonianMisc. Coll., vol. 94, No. 8, pp. 39-40, pi. 17, b, 1935.
14 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 99
the oldest horizon in Kentucky." And in Loudon County, Tenn.,the remains were the earhest of three distinct periods of occupancyrecognized, the last and therefore most recent being represented bythe historic Cherokee.The occurrence at the Mons site of material similar to thatattributed to the early people of parts of the country west of the moun-tains suggests the probability that the vicinity of the Peaks of Otterwas occupied during that same period, long before the arrival of theCherokee, who, according to their tribal tradition, once had a villagenear the Peaks. But others had been in the region many centuriesbefore it was claimed by the contemporaries of the Round Gravepeople; these were the makers of the Folsom points, probably thefirst nomadic hunters to penetrate the wilderness.