Abstract
AT a recent meeting of the Washington Anthropological Society, Mr. G. K. Gilbert described a prehistoric hearth under the Quaternary deposits in Western New York. The speaker described the finding of the remains of a wood fire in the bottom of a well through the drift deposits near Gaines, a few miles south of Lake Ontario. The evidence in the matter rests almost entirely on the statements of a Mr. Tomlinson, a well-known and respected resident of the place, and who, personally, made the find upon his own farm. It was twenty years ago that the discovery was made, but Mr. Tomlinson has stated that his memory of all the essential details was very clear, and the speaker had every personal reason for believing the statements. The story is briefly that in sinking a well through 17 feet of gravel and clay, they found lying upon the rock at its bottom three large stones, partly inclosing a small space in which were about a dozen charred sticks, undoubtedly the remains of a fire started by human hands. Mr. Tomlinson gave some of these remains to neighbours, who still remember the matter, and the remainder he kept himself. In time, however, they have been lost, and the endeavour to find them did not meet with success.
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Prehistoric Remains in America . Nature 35, 476 (1887). https://doi.org/10.1038/035476a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/035476a0