Deerfield Skeletons
"Graves have been found singly or in groups in all parts of the town. On the side hill west of Old Fort, it was common, fifty years ago, to turn up Indian skulls while plowing with out disturbing any other bones. At the foot of Bars Long Hill, just where the meadow fence crossed the road, and the bars were placed which gave the village its name, many skeletons were exposed in plowing down a bank, and weapons and implements were found in abundance. One of these skeletons was described to me by Henry Mather who saw it, as being of monstrous size—" the head as big as a peck basket, with double teeth all round." Mather, who was about six feet tall, made the comparison, and says the thigh bones were about three inches longer than his own. The skeleton was examined by Dr. Stephen W. Williams, who said the owner must have been nearly eight feet high. In all the cases noted in this paragraph, the bodies had been placed in a sit ting posture, facing the east. In those that follow they were laid on the right side, as above described."
- Text from "A History of Deerfield, Massachusetts, The Times when the People by Whom it was Settled, Unsettled and Resettled" by George Sheldon, 1895, pp. 78-79.
Blog Posts and Articles
- "Words Matter: "Double Rows of Teeth," Jim Vieira, and the Deerfield Skeleton" (Andy White, 12/14/2014)
- "Review of Search for the Lost Giants S01E01 "Unraveling the Mystery"" (Jason Colavito, 11/5/2014)
