occurred in Tennessee, Missouri, and southern Illinois.

From personal examination I conclude that most of the folded
skeletons found in mounds were buried after the flesh had been
removed, as the folding, to the extent noticed, could not possibly
have been done with the flesh on them, and the positions in most
cases were such that they could not have been assumed in
consequence of the decay of the flesh and settling of the mound.

The partial calcining of the bones in vaults and under layers of
clay where the evidence shows that the fire was applied to the
outside of the vault or above the clay layer, can be accounted for
only on the supposition that the flesh had been removed before
burial.

Other proofs that this custom prevailed among the mound builders
in various sections of the country might be adduced.

That it was the custom of a number of Indian tribes, when first
encountered by the whites, and even down to a comparatively modern
date, to remove the flesh before final burial by suspending on
scaffolds, depositing in charnel-houses, by temporary burial, or
otherwise, is well known to all students of Indian habits and
customs.

Heckewelder says, "The Nanticokes had the singular custom of
removing the bones from the old burial place to a place of deposit
in the country they now dwell in." [Footnote: Hist. Manners and
Customs Ind. Nations, p. 75.]