NO. 2 MISSOURI VALLEY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM — WEDEL 5 1

NO. 2 MISSOURI

VALLEY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM — WEDEL

5

52

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS

COLLECTIONS VOL. Ill and

upper

Republican peoples, and also to contribute materially to clarificationof theproblemof interrelationships of these

two

archeo- logical horizons.

No

evidence of pre-Columbian puebloan contacts with Central Plains peoples hasbeen found.

In retrospect, itisscarcely necessaryto reiteratethatthe surveys to datehavegatheredina great quantity of useful archeologicaland

human

ecological information for

many

sections of the Missouri River Basin that will be directly affected

by

the water-control pro- gram.

By

comparison withthereturnsthatmightbe realizedthrough detailed excavations following

up

the leads

now

athand,the salvage task has justbegun. It has barely touched

some

of the potentially richest sections of the Missouri Valley.

As

Cooper has aptly ob- servedinhispreliminary appraisal of the archeology ofFort Randall Reservoir:

Anthropologists have foryearsrecognized the upper Missouri as one ofthe richestand mostpromising archeological areas inNorth America. In historic times,an important partofthefurtradebetweenwhitesandIndianswascarried onatthegreatstockaded townsof theMandan,Arikara, and theirneighbors onthemainsteminSouth andNorthDakota. These townsrepresented acom- paratively advanced stage of native civilization, basically of an agricultural character,andwereinhabitedbywhat wereapparentlyonly thelastofaseries of people who atvarious times and perhaps from severaldirections occupied the region. Progressively simpler andless advanced peoples, who relied to a great extent onhunting, seem to havepreceded the Indians first seen in the regionbywhitemen. Thestepsby whicha highlyspecializedcorn-bean-squash economy, adapted to the rather trying environment of the upper Missouri, evolved out ofthenative agricultural economies to south and east,remain to beworkedout. Thereare suggestions that theprehistoricfarmers of the area may have been beset,perhaps even displaced,from time totime, by drought, floods,andother vagariesofnature.

A

longand complexstoryofman'sstruggle with hisenvironment, without the technological advantages of the white man

today, thus awaitscloserscrutiny. The campsites,villages,towns, and burial places of the region represent the documents from which this story mustbe assembled. Itisthis story,rather than themereaccuraulation of specimens and compilingoflistsofsitecharacteristics,whichisenvisagedinthe archeological researchprogramproposed.

In varying degree and withlocal qualifications, the above evalua- tionappliestoallarcheologicalremainssubjectto

damage

or destruc- tion by the Federal water-control

program

in the Missouri River Basin.

The

challengeisobvious.

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS Vol.Ill, No.2, PI.

1.Disarticulated

or Bundue

burialsin

Grave

Pit

beneath mound

Tracesoflog cover arevisibleonpitedges. Site39CH4.nearWheeler Bridge, Fort Randall Reservoir,S. Dak. Neg. 39CH4-48.

2.

Bundle

Burial

on Floor

of

Grave

Pit

Noteperforationsinlegandarmbones. Site39CH4,nearWheelerBridge, Fort Randall Reservoir,S.Dak. Neg. 39CH4-49.

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUSCOLLECTIONS Vol.Ill, No. 2,PL 2

1.

Excavated Floor

of

Semisubterranean Earth

Lodge, possibly

ARIKARA

Firepitincenter, four largecentraland numerous small outer postholes,and vestibuleentrance openingtowardthesoutheast. Oldham Site (39CH7), Fort Randall Reservoir,S.Dak. Neg.39CH7-9.

2.Buried ARTIFACT

Stratum

inMissouri River Terrace,

near

Chamberlain,S.Dak.

Site39BR11,Fort Randall Reservoir,S. Dak. Neg. 39BR11-5.

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS Vol. Ill, No. 2,PL 3

1.TESTING

OCCUPATIONAL STRATUM BENEATH

5FEETOF

OVERBURDEN

Site32MZ12, McKcnzie County, Garrison Reservoir,N.Dak. Neg. 32MZ12-3.

Theflat summit is litteredwithflints, sherds,and other evidence of Indian occupancy; Missouri River at left. Site 32ML9, McLean County, Garrison Reservoir,N.Dak. Neg. 32ML9-1.

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUSCOLLECTIONS Vol.Ill,No.2, PI.4

POST SECTION

EXPOSED

BY MISSOURI RiVER

CUTTING

INTO

REMAINS

OF

STOCKADE SURROUNDING ROCK

VILLAGE(HiDATSA?)

NEAR

EXPANSION TOWNSITE.N.DAK.

Site32ME15. Mercer Comity, Garrison Reservoir. Neg. 32ME15-3.

2.STONE-HEARTH

CAMP

SITE

AMONG THE DUNES ON TUFF CREEK

Site48FR23, BoysenReservoir, Wyo. Neg. 48FR23-2.

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS Vol. Ill, No.2, PI.5

1.

Petroglyphs of Unknown age

Site48FR13, Boysen Reservoir,Wyo. Neg. 48FR13-1.

^^^r

**^i

-iT-

2.

EXCAVATION

OF

BiRDSHEAD CAVE

Site48FR54,intheOwlCreekRange,BoysenReservoir,Wyo.Neg. 48FR54-10.

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUSCOLLECTIONS ^{Vol. Ill,No.2,} PL6

1

Large Rock Shelter

Containing

Cultural

deposits ata

Depth

of2

to

3Feet,

Covered

by Sterile Deposits

Site48PA24,OregonBasin,Wyo. Neg. 48PA24-1.

«

«

-

i^ ^' ^**^.

2.Dr.

White

Excavating

the Carapace

ofa

Large

Soft-shelled

Turtle

(Amyda)

Thisisthefirstwell-preserved specimenofthekind ever takenfromtheWind River formation, Boysen Reservoir,Wyo. Neg. 48FR65-1.

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS Vol. Ill, No. 2, PL7

.^^

Processing,o^ i^flcimens

AT the

River Basin

Surveys

EXPEDITION

CAMP

AT

GLENDO

RESERVOIR.

WYO.

Xeg.48PLoo-(..

2.TiPiRings

on

Bluffs

Overlooking the Marias

River.

Tiber Reservoir. Mont.

Neg. 24TL12-1.