Burial Customs In The Delmarva Peninsula And The Question Of Their Chronology

Findings in a large ossuary on the Choptank River, eastern-shore of Maryland, apparently from the late 17th century shows that historic and prehistoric Nanticokes mummified their chiefs and probably disposed of the remains in ossuaries. Some bones appear to have been thrown more or less indiscriminately into the ossuaries while others were buried neatly with skulls nested on the top. Before the introduction of bone-cleaning this group buried their dead in singled flexed upright burials and partially flexed seated burials without artifacts of any kind included. Footnotes. Photographs.