McKees Rocks mound excavation of 1896 uncovered giant skeletons and tiny skulls. The McKees Rocks mound was the first excavation project of the Carnegie Museum in 1896 Carnegie Archives hold no report for this excavation; however, the Smithsonian Archives contained a scrapbook of contemporaneous newspaper clippings about it Sensational finds included skeletons described as giants wearing bone crowns, bone bracelets, and bone anklets, similar to depictions of K'inich B'alam in the Cross Group at Palenque
The McKees Rocks Mound was the Carnegie Museum's first excavation in 1896. Carnegie Archives hold no report, but the Smithsonian's newspaper clippings describe giant skeletons in bone crowns and bracelets — plus brachycephalic and miniature 'Mexico type' skulls. The only documented excavated mound in the Pittsburgh area.
Key Facts
- The McKees Rocks mound was the first excavation project of the Carnegie Museum in 1896
- Carnegie Archives hold no report for this excavation; however, the Smithsonian Archives contained a scrapbook of contemporaneous newspaper clippings about it
- Sensational finds included skeletons described as giants wearing bone crowns, bone bracelets, and bone anklets, similar to depictions of K'inich B'alam in the Cross Group at Palenque
- Two distinct skull types were found: brachycephalic skulls and miniature skulls referred to as "Mexico type"
- An envelope dated April 5, 1935 from Albert B. Reagan of Brigham Young University's Department of Anthropology was found in the Smithsonian's McKees Rocks mound folder
- The McKees Rocks mound is the only documented excavated mound in the Pittsburgh area
Source: A Lawyer Found a Secret Treasure Hunt Hidden in a City Park by The Randall Carlson