Charnel houses have been found in the larger villages. Black bear masks have been found in some graves, showing a possible indication of a rank. Of the average adult burials, it is not clearly understood where they might have been buried. To distinguish the characteristics between Fort Ancient and interior Monongahelan of West Virginia, Dr. McMichael writes, "A reflection of the Monongahela's greater Woodland heritage was the continued use of small stone mounds in the Monongahela drainage area, well into the Late Prehistoric." Child burials were sometimes inside the village and sometimes under the house. This contrasted with Andaste (Susquehannock) burials from 1450/1550, which were outside the palisaded village, as found east of the Allegheny Mountains. By 1450, petal-shaped attachments to their houses became common. These were used for storage or perhaps a smokehouse. Monongahela pottery and tools were well crafted and included decorated clay pipes for smoking. Glass trade beads have been found at some villages, although there is no record of European contact. Agriculture and food Like its sister culture the Fort Ancient, the Monongahela made a leap in agriculture by adopting seed crops from Mesoamerica, which had been obtained through their ancestral trade network. The women cultivated varieties of crops such as maize, beans, squash, and sunflower, collecting their seeds to use in subsequent years. They also collected wild plant foods, such as nuts and berries, to complete their diets. As with many contemporary groups to the west and south, they depended on maize as the major staple of their diet. The Monongahela men hunted animals including deer and turtles, and caught fish and shell fish. They made advances in the cultivation of tobacco and hemp braid crops, and traded these with the East Coast agriculturists. In 1599 - 1600 the English geographer and propagandist Richard Hakluyt reported on Native American foods of the mid-Atlantic coastal people with whom they also traded. As evidence of that trade, sea shells from the mid-Atlantic have been found in some Monongahela sites. Disappearance This late prehistoric culture peaked about AD 1300. The colder weather of the Little Ice Age may have caused inter-group battling over food and farmland, according to some scholars. The crops did not prosper as well during this colder period, causing food shortages for populations that had grown after their introduction. Some studies show that the culture began failing due to poor health conditions. In addition, some