which probably formed the roof. In tracing out the circumference
a hard clay floor was found beneath, and between the two several
inches of ashes, but no skeletons. There were a great many pieces
of broken dishes so situated as to lead one to believe they were
on top of the house at the time it was burned.
The fact that no skeletons or utensils were discovered on the floor
finds its most reasonable explanation in the supposition that the
inmates, finding their abode to be unsafe, moved out and took their
possessions with them. This would account, also, for the absence of
such remains in similar mounds farther north. The abundance of pottery
fragments found in this case, and in many others, may mean only that
these were worked in as a part of the clay roofing. They would be of
some service in holding the clay in place in wet weather.
It is quite probable that the continuous, though fragmentary, layer of
burned clay on the floor so often noted is due in part at least to the
material forming the roof. The walls would be more apt to fall outward
than inward, and would be more liable to crumble than to fall as an
intact mass. In fact, this is clearly shown by the statement (p. 229)
that in certain house sites in St. Francis County, Arkansas,
The edges are all higher and have a thicker layer of this
[burned] material than the inner areas.
Further, in describing explorations of certain "hut rings" at
"Beckwith's Fort" in Mississippi County, Missouri (p. 187), the report
states that they are
from 30 to 50 feet in diameter, measuring to the tops of their
rims, which are raised slightly above the natural level. The
depth of the depression at the center is from 2 to 3 feet. Near
the center, somewhat covered with earth, are usually found the
baked earth, charcoal, and ashes of ancient fires, and around
these and beneath the rims [that is, the surrounding ring or
embankment] split bones and fresh-water shells. Often mingled
with this refuse material are rude stone implements and fragments
of pottery.
Note is made of
the similarity in the size, form, and general appearance of these
depressions and earthen rings to those of the earth lodges of the
abandoned Mandan towns along the Missouri River.
It appears, too, that certain sites were occupied for long periods,
new houses being constructed when necessary. In describing mounds in
Poinsett County, Arkansas, the same writer says (p. 205) that
The positions and relations of these beds * * * make it evident
that upon the site of one burned dwelling another was usually
constructed, not infrequently a third, and sometimes even a
fourth, the remains of each being underlaid and usually overlaid
in part by very dark, adhesive clay or muck. * * *
The peculiar black color of these beds is chiefly in consequence
of the large proportion of charcoal with which they are mixed,
some of it doubtless the fine particles of burned grass and reed
matting with which the cabins appear to have been thatched.
These layers of "very dark" material undoubtedly are remains of mud
from the adjacent swamps, which was mixed with or plastered over the
grass roofs. It is difficult to understand how they could have become
mixed after the burning.
As showing the extent to which this prolonged occupancy was carried,
we are informed (p. 254) that in Coahoma County, Mississippi, a mound
was--
oval and rounded on top, 210 feet long, 150 broad at the base,
and 16 feet high. This mound and several smaller ones near it are
so nearly masses of fire beds, burnt clay, fragments of stone and
pottery, together with more or less charcoal and ashes, as to
indicate clearly that they are the sites of ancient dwellings
thus elevated by accumulation of material during long continued
occupancy.
In still other portions of the country besides those already mentioned
are evidences of similar houses whose sites are now marked by mounds.
In southern Ohio, especially, records of excavations contain numerous
references to post holes under mounds both large and small. In the
case of the former, so far as we may judge from the reports, the
houses were destroyed before the mounds were built, and it does not
appear that they were ever covered with earth. In the small, low, flat
mounds, under which such holes existed, no thought was taken that
these may mark the position of posts used to support a roof; all
mounds were explored with the idea that they were for burial purposes,
consequently no attention was paid to these features.
The Mandan houses, as described by Lewis and Clark, Catlin, and
others, when fallen into ruins would leave exactly such mounds or hut
rings as those found in Missouri and Arkansas.
It is now generally conceded that the wall or embankment at Aztalan,
Wisconsin, concerning which so many wild theories have been
promulgated, was simply a series of such house sites connected by a
low ridge. The evidences of mysterious sacrificial altars seem to be
due only to the destruction of such houses by fire.
In Wisconsin, also, and in Minnesota, are many small mounds apparently
of this character which are due to an extinct tribe known to the Sioux
and Chippewas as "The Ground House Indians."
In 1887 I became acquainted, at Munising, Michigan, with Mr. William
Cameron. He was of the Scotch clan of Camerons, a nephew of a former
Governor of Canada. Educated for a profession, he made a visit to
relatives in Canada in early manhood, and the attractions of the
wilderness proved so great that he never returned to his home. At the
time I met him he was 84 years of age, in full possession of his
mental faculties. For more than 60 years he had traversed the Lake
region, his fur trading and trapping expeditions having carried him
over all the country from Montreal to the mouth of the Mackenzie
River. Much of his life had been spent among the Indians, especially
the Sioux and Chippewas. He learned from them all they could tell him
of their tribal history and former methods of living. The Chippewas
told him that when they first came into the country they found the
Sioux in possession, but finally, obtaining arms from the French, they
drove the Sioux westward.
The "old men" of the Sioux corroborated this tradition and told
Cameron that as they went westward they came to a race of people who
lived in mounds which they piled up. These people were large and
strong, but cowardly. "If they had been as brave as they were big,"
said the Sioux, "between them and the Chippewas we would have been
destroyed; but they were great cowards and we easily drove them away."
Mr. B.G. Armstrong, of Ashland, Wisconsin, told me that he had taken
great pains to investigate this tradition. From all that he could
gather by much inquiry among the Indians and from his own
observations, he was satisfied of its correctness. These people, whom
the Sioux called Ground House Indians, built houses of logs and posts,
over and around which they piled earth until it formed a conical mass
several feet thick above the roof. Their territory extended from Lake
Eau Claire, about 30 miles south of Lake Superior, to the Wisconsin
River near Wausau or Stevens Point; down the Wisconsin a short
distance; thence west into Minnesota, but how far he could not say;
then around north of Yellow Lake back to the Eau Claire region. The
Sioux exterminated the tribe, the last survivors being an old man and
a woman who had married a Sioux. They were taken to the present site
of Superior, near Duluth, and "died about 200 years ago"--that is, in
the last quarter of the seventeenth century.
Gordon, an intelligent Indian living at the town of the same name, a
short distance south of Superior, was familiar with this tradition, as
were other Indians with whom I talked, and who accepted it as a
well-known fact. Gordon related that he had heard "the old men" say
these Indians erected their houses of wood and piled several feet of
dirt over them; and they buried their dead in little mounds out in
front of their houses and a few hundred feet away. He told of a mound
that was opened near Yellow Lake in which the position and condition
of the skeletons, two or three of children being among them, showed
"as plainly as anything could" that they had been sitting or lounging
around the fire, when the roof fell in and crushed them.
There is a "Ground House River" in eastern Minnesota, which probably
derives its name from this people.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Bushnell, D.I., jr., Archeology of the Ozark region
of Missouri. Amer. Anthrop., n.s. vol. 6, no. 2, p. 298.]
[Footnote 2: Bushnell, D.I., jr., Archeology of the Ozark region
of Missouri. Amer. Anthrop., n.s. vol. 6, no. 2, p. 298.]
[Footnote 3: Ibid., p. 297.]
[Footnote 4: Papers Peabody Museum, vol. III, no. 1, p. 16.]
V. ARCHEOLOGICAL WORK IN HAWAII
INTRODUCTION
The ethnologist or archeologist desiring to conduct explorations on
the Hawaiian Islands will find it necessary to begin his labors at the
Bishop Museum in Honolulu. This museum contains an extensive
collection of articles, classified, arranged, and labeled,
illustrating every phase of native life as it has existed since the
islands have been known to white men, as well as many of the
implements and objects pertaining to agriculture, fisheries, and
domestic occupations of earlier times. Models or casts of houses, and
of individuals engaged in various lines of industry, give the visitor
a clear idea as to the routine of ordinary daily life. A careful study
of all these things enlightens him in regard to what he may expect to
find and to the meaning of such discoveries as he may make.
The extensive library which belongs to the museum contains every
publication relating not alone to the islands but to all the
archipelagoes of the southern Pacific that it is possible to procure;
and among the most valuable of the volumes are the reports and memoirs
of the museum itself, in which are set forth the observations and
deductions of numerous investigators who, either in behalf of the
museum or under its auspices, have endeavored to find a solution for
the many problems involved.
Equally valuable to the student are the information, interpretations,
and instruction freely placed at his disposal by those connected with
the museum, especially by Dr. Brigham, the former director, whose long
and busy life has been devoted almost entirely to a study of the
Polynesian groups; by Professor Gregory, the present director, who
with tireless energy is the impelling force behind various lines of
scientific research; by Mr. Stokes, curator of the ethnological
department, who for more than a score of years has been surveying,
photographing, and collecting in every part of the islands; by Mr.
Thomas G. Thrum, of Honolulu, who has completed, in manuscript, a
volume containing a list and description of more than 500 heiaus on
the islands; and by various other men who, in private life, have
devoted much time and close attention to whatever may pertain to
native life and customs.
* * *
MOLOKAI ISLAND
Following the advice of those whose knowledge gave them authority to
speak decisively, the initial base of research was the island of
Molokai, which presents the best conditions for study. It lies off the
usual lines of travel, offers no inducement to tourists who wish to
have the benefit of good roads and comfortable hotels, and
consequently is seldom visited except by those who are called on
business or who go as the guests of the few residents there.
Mr. George Cooke, one of the owners of a large cattle and sheep ranch
on the island, and greatly interested in its aboriginal history, gave
most generous aid in a reconnoissance of such parts as he had time to
visit. He placed his beautiful summer residence at the disposal of
Prof. Gregory and the writer, and conducted the explorers to nearly
all the places of interest which could be approached by automobile.
Mr. James Munro, manager of the ranch, also rendered valuable
assistance. Owing to his long residence here he has become thoroughly
familiar with every noteworthy feature, and pointed out many remains
which, without his guidance, would have been missed altogether. Fully
acquainted with the life of the Hawaiian people, he made clear the
origin and purpose of many things that, lacking his intelligent
explanation, would have been without significance.
Although there are now comparatively few Hawaiians on Molokai, it is
evident that the island at one time supported a dense population.
Along the southern, or leeward, coast are numerous fish ponds formed
by building a stone wall across an inlet or, more frequently, by
constructing it with the ends on shore and carrying it around a
section of the open sea. The walls are strong enough to resist the
waves, well above the level of high tide, and surround spaces of
various areas up to 70 acres. These ponds were stocked with numerous
kinds of fish which, thus protected from their natural enemies,
increased rapidly and formed an unfailing food supply. The antiquity
of these ponds is denoted by the amount of silt partially filling
them, brought down from the mountains by erosion of the soil. They are
still used to some extent by Hawaiians as well as by other residents.
Inland, low walls of stone or earth, or both, surround hundreds of old
taro patches, one variety of these plants requiring an abundant supply
of water during its growth. The poi made from taro was the principal
vegetable food of the inhabitants. Sweet potatoes were also a leading
article of diet. The fields in which they were grown may still be
identified here and there by the little ridges heaped up. All these,
with the addition of migratory birds and fowls which at certain
seasons swarmed on the different islands, supplemented by various nuts
and fruits growing spontaneously, provided a varied and ample food
supply. Mammals, except the pig, dog, and rat (really a large mouse),
which came in with the early natives, were unknown prior to the advent
of the whites. There were no land reptiles and few indigenous noxious
insects; although mosquitoes, not to mention certain domestic pests,
abound in a few places, and there are some scorpions and centipedes;
but these, like measles, smallpox, tuberculosis, and worse diseases,
are adjuncts of an enforced civilization. The mongoose, brought in to
destroy rats, and the myna bird, to devour insects, are themselves now
beginning to be detrimental.
Along the coasts, on the headlands and lower hills, and to a less
extent farther inland, are village sites, foundations of temples and
houses, garden patches inclosed by stone walls, and long rows of
stones, some of which are borders of roads or trails, others being for
purposes which are undetermined. Among these, taro beds and sweet
potato patches may still be traced.
The most remarkable among the remains are the great temple site on
Senator Cooke's ranch, toward the east end of the island, and the
"paved trail" 10 miles down the coast from Kaunakakai, the principal
village and harbor. The former is rectangular in outline, built on
irregular ground, of stones large and small, to form a level platform
on which a thousand persons could assemble without being hampered for
lack of room. The outer faces of the walls vary from 3 to 20 feet in
height; and except at the lowest parts there are terraces or steps all
around, about 5 feet in height and of differing width. Surrounding
this platform, extending for half a mile up the little valley of which
it marks the entrance, on the slopes to either side, and on the nearly
level area reaching down to the sea in front, are all the indications
of a populous settlement.
It is said that the ruins were formerly much more numerous and
extensive, the larger part of them being swept out of existence by a
great rush of water from the mountains "a long time ago."
The "paved trail" is a causeway of large stones. Some parts of it are
obliterated by slides and encroaching ravines; other parts preserve
the original condition and appearance. The width is not quite uniform,
as the stones are of different sizes, but it departs very little
either way from 6 feet. So far as can be judged in its present
overgrown state, it extends in a straight line for about 2 miles, from
the beach to a point on the hill at an altitude of fully 1,000 feet.
To what it led, or why it was built, are questions awaiting an answer.
All of these places are now abandoned except a few villages along the
coast. The people are not here to occupy them, and even if they were
the conditions have become so changed that residence about them is no
longer feasible. At the temple site, for example, the extent of the
old taro beds predicates an abundance of water; at present, the one
family living near by must carry it in a dry season from the well or
spring of a neighbor. There is no steady water supply within miles of
the "paved trail."
Clearly, extensive changes have taken place in recent times in climate
and perhaps in topography. Fifty years ago forests of large trees grew
over hundreds of square miles on the southern slopes of Molokai where
at the present time there is only grass, or where algaroba trees,
similar to the mesquite of the southwestern United States, are now
spreading. This deforestation is still going on; dead or dying trees
fringe the timber still standing. The cause of this progressive
barrenness has not, so far, been, fully ascertained; there is
undoubtedly a connection between it and the diminished water supply,
though which is cause and which is effect, or whether both are due in
common to some atmospheric phenomenon, is unknown. One result,
however, is apparent. The roots of the forest trees do not extend deep
into the earth, but spread out over the surface like those of pine
trees. Thus much of the rainfall was prevented from escaping rapidly
and such as was not absorbed by the roots made its way into the ground
beneath the upper soil, whence it percolated downward to feed the
springs. Now the greater part of the water runs off and is lost. For
this reason large areas once well populated are no longer habitable.
Molokai, like other islands of the group, contains no stone except of
volcanic or coral formation. There is no chert or similar material
from which chipped implements can be made; nor, as would naturally be
expected, is there any obsidian suitable for such manufacture. It may
occasionally be seen on the sites of villages, but always in small
angular fragments seldom more than half an inch in any dimension,
always coarse-grained, even porous, and never of a quality which can
be flaked into definite forms. No doubt its only use was as an
abrasive, after being pounded fine. Rarely, quartz or chalcedony is
found; it resembles the deposit around hot springs or in fissures,
and, like the obsidian, is in fragments too small to be utilized
except as a grinding or polishing material for smoothing wrought
objects.
Manufactured stone specimens are confined principally to three general
classes: Adzes, for working in wood; pestles, for pounding the taro
root; and discoids, for games. The last are exactly similar to the
chunkey stones so abundant in the States, except that none of them
have concave or hollowed faces, and they are used in the same way.
There were three forms of the game: To hurl or roll a disk farther
than an opponent; to strike a pole or other mark set up; and to test
the inherent magical powers of the stones by rolling them in such a
way that they would collide, the object in this case being to see
which one might prove victorious by breaking the other or forcing it
out of its course. A suitable arena for the contest was prepared by
carefully leveling and smoothing a straight, narrow strip of ground to
any length desired, a slight wall being thrown up along each margin.
Pottery was unknown, there being no clay suitable for making it.
Calabashes or gourds and wooden trays served as receptacles, though
stone dishes or bowls are sometimes found. Along the coast occur
sinkers, either plummet-shaped or half-ovoid like an egg divided
lengthwise. This form has a groove around the longer diameter,
crossing the flat face, and was tied to a white shell as a sinker in
catching squids or cuttlefish, a hook being attached to the line.
Coral was much used as files or rasps. There are a few objects whose
purpose is problematical; and some highly polished black disks which,
laid flat and covered with a film of water, make excellent mirrors;
but aside from what is here mentioned, not much worked stone is found.
Wood, bone, and shell served as the raw material for nearly all other
needs.
Graves, or what are supposed to be graves, marked by cairns 3 or 4
feet high, or perhaps by only one or two layers of stones, are found,
though rare. Many so-called caves--which are merely "tunnels,"
"bubbles," or "blow-holes" in the lava--were utilized as burial
vaults. The natives vigorously protested against an attempt to
excavate any of these, claiming that their ancestors or members of
their families are buried in them and must not be disturbed. In the
dunes human skeletons are frequently exposed by the shifting of the
sands by the high wind. The natives seem to have little regard for
these. Perhaps they are of the "common people," while cairns cover the
chiefs or priests. There is a tradition that in "the old times" most
of the dead were cast into the ocean as an offering to the Shark God.
There are no mounds or other structures of earth; everything was built
of stone. All structures began at the surface of the ground. No
evidence has been found of an occupation earlier than that of the
present Hawaiian people. At no point examined in ravines or cliffs was
there the slightest hint of human life at a period antedating that
beginning with the race discovered by Captain Cook. Consequently no
extended excavations were attempted. The results of some examinations
made in three different places will be presented.
About 10 miles in an air line from Kaunakakai and the same distance
from Mr. Cooke's home, on a mountain known as Mauna Loa, is a narrow,
sharp ridge extending nearly south and terminating abruptly at the
junction of two deep ravines. On the end of this are two house sites,
or heiaus, which had never been disturbed. They are as nearly
rectangular as the irregular stones of which they are built will
permit. The larger (A) has its south wall at the edge of the low
cliff, with its sides nearly on the cardinal lines. Omitting inches
from the measurements, its outer dimensions are: North wall 38 feet,
south wall 32 feet, east wall 33 feet, west wall 32 feet. The
corresponding inside measurements are 21 feet, 19 feet, 21 feet, and
22 feet. Thirteen feet north from the north wall is a stone pile 13
feet north and south by 10 feet east and west, 18 inches high. Ten
feet west of this is a single layer of stones covering an area 7 feet
east and west by 4 feet north and south. At 9 feet out from the middle
of the west wall is a platform 7 by 7 feet, its west edge on large
stones in place. At the west end of the north wall are three large
flat stones, one of them forming the corner, the two others west of
this, the three being up-edged and in a continuous line.