NORTH DAKOTA

NO.

2 SALVAGE PROGRAM,

I95O-I95I

— ^COOPER ₃₉

40 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOL. I26 relatively small numbers.

Some

of

them may

be of fairage, but

none

hasyielded convincing evidence of

any

considerable antiquity.

Many

of these sites are moderately deeply buried beneathsterile deposits.

Despite ^its evident importance, this area

had

seen

no

excavation priorto 1950,

when

the River Basin Surveys

and

the State Historical Society of

North Dakota

initiated

programs

of intensive investigation in significant sites to be destroyed

by

the reservoir.

What

previous excavations

had

been accomplished

on

the Missouri River in

North Dakota were

in earlier

and more

spectacular sites

downstream,

well outside the Garrison Reservoir (e.g., the Burgois, or

Double

Ditch, site

on

the eastside above Bismarck,

and

the Slant, or Fort

Abraham

Lincoln, village

on

the west side

below Mandan).

During

both years

under

consideration, small survey teams

were

detached

from

the excavation parties in the Garrison area to extend theprevious reconnaissance

and

tore-examine sites recorded in 1947.

This

work was

in every instance

headed by George

Metcalf,

who was

assisted at various times

by

one or

two

other

men.

In _1950, a

2-man

party spent a period of approximately

two months

primarily in an examination of the area comprised inthe Fort Berthold Reservation,

which had

been untouched in 1947.

During

rather brief

and

intermit- tent surveys in 1951, the emphasis

was

again

on

the land within the confines of the reservationbut,as intheprevious year,

some

attention

was

given toother parts of the area to be flooded

which had

received at least partial coverage in 1947.

The

list of

70

^sites recordedin 1947 has

now

been

expanded

to include approximately 130 Indian sites, plus about 15 additional sites of trading posts, Indianagencies, aban-

doned

nineteenth-century towns, historic trails,

and

other features

more

or less intimately relatedtothe

White

occupation of the region.

Two

of the latter are of especial significance as far as the Indian history of the region is concerned.

They

are site

32MN1,

believedto bethe remainsof Kipp'strading postbuilt about 1825,

and

the site of

two

trading posts, Fort Berthold

and

Fort Atkinson, at Like-a-Fish-

hook

Village, the last

home

of the

Mandan,

Hidatsa,

and

Arikara before they scattered to individual allotments

on

the reservation (the village

and

associated posts areincluded inthe project's records

under

a single

number, 32ML2).

Sites relating to the Indian occupancy of the area

now on

record include winter villages

on

the river bottoms, earth-lodge villages

on

terraces or buttetops,small

camp

siteswith

and

withoutpottery,stone circles, depressions

which

are probably the remains of eagle traps, rock cairns, burial

mounds,

other burial sites,

and

such recent phe-

nomena

asthe ruin ofalatehunting lodge

and

theremains of the last

NO. 2

SALVAGE PROGRAM,

I95O-I95I

— ^COOPER

^4I

Arikara earth lodge,

which was

used as a

community and

ceremonial center

from

1907 to 1918. Especially deserving of salvage are

two mound

sites,

which

lie outside the pool but

may

be jeopardized

by

road relocations,

and

a

number

of earth-lodge sites,

some

late but others relatingtoatime

when

the culture

was

stillbasicallyaboriginal.

Site

32ME57

isa single

mound

approximately 60 feet indiameter

and

6 feet high,

from which

a local resident has obtained

many human

bones

by minor

pitting,whilesite

32ME63

isa

group

ofseven

mounds which

range in size

from

25 feet in diameter

and

2 feet in height to almost 70 feet in diameter

and 6

feet in height.

Mounds

along this

segment

of the Missouri River appear to be exceedingly rare, so that the relationships of the sites in questionwill havetobe sought atcon- siderable distances. Apparently the nearest reported occurrences of

mounds

areto the east

on

the

Sheyenne and James

^Rivers,

where

the cultural affiliations are as yet undefined,

and

to the north in south- western Manitoba,

where

themanifestations have beenascribedtothe

Headwaters Lakes

aspect

and an

Assiniboin authorship has been suggested (Vickers, 1949, p. 33).

Among

the earth-lodge sites

which seem on

present evidence to be especially noteworthy are the

Rock

Village

(32ME15),

a fortified siteyielding primarily materials of native

manufacture

; Like-a-Fish-

hook (32ML2),

the last earth-lodge village of the

Three

Affiliated Tribes;

two

butte-top earth-lodge villages

(32ML39 and 32DU18)

;

a large fortified late Arikara site, the Star Village

(32ME16)

; a well-preserved latewinter village

(32ML38)

;

and

an earth-lodgesite

(32ME59)

associated

by

tradition with one of the

Mandan-Hidatsa

supernaturals

and known

as

Grandmother's

Lodge.

The

intensive excavation

program

in Garrison Reservoir

was

car- ried out

by

a single party ⁱⁿ

1950 and by two

parties in 1951.

Dur-

ing these

two summers,

excavations

were

undertaken in

two

earth- lodge villages, the

Rock

Village

(32ME15) and

the Star Village

(32ME16), and

inafrontier militarypost, Fort Stevenson

(32ML1).

The

fieldseason of 1950

was

spententirely inthe

Rock

Village,

where

a party

under

the supervision of G. ^Ellis

Burcaw

excavated

from mid- June

until the

end

of October. In 195¹ a party headed

by Donald

D. Hartle continued the investigation of this site

from

early

June

until late August, after

which

the party, considerably reduced in numbers,

worked

in the Star Village for the remainder of the season,

which

terminated there about

November

i.

Rock

Village, so

named

because of its proximity to a conspicuous expanse of sandstone

which

outcrops alongthe

bank

of the Missouri River, is situated

on

a level uncultivated terrace approximately ₁₅

42 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOL. I26 feet

above

the river (pi. 6, 6).

A narrow

strip of timbered

bottom

land intervenes

between

the stream

and

the present edge of the site,

which

has been scarped

by

erosion.

An

indeterminate portion of the site has disappeared, for lodges

and

other features are

now

partially-

destroyed at the terrace border. Shallow depressions

and

other sur- face irregularities suggest the presence of 35 ^to

40

closely spaced earthlodgeswithinthe confines of theoccupiedarea,

which

is

bounded by

the steep

bank

along theedge of the terrace

and by

the remains of

an

artificial ditch.

Expansion

of the village is attested

by

evidence thatthe course of the ditch

had

been altered duringthe occupation to enclose probably 10 lodges ⁱⁿ addition to those within the original fortified area.

Although

little cultural material is visible

on

the

sodded

surface, examination of the cut

bank and

test pits

dug by

the survey party in 1947

had

revealed the presence of

abundant

refuse within the village level.

The work

in 1950

and

195^{1 resulted in the} excavation of 13 earth lodges

and 60

cachepits, as well as a

number

of such features as

borrow

pits, sweat lodges,

and

structures of uncertain function,

and

included

numerous

test trenches in addi- tional lodges, across the defensive works,

and

in the general village area.

Among

the test trenches

was

one, 282feet long

by

5 feetwide, extending entirely across the site; in addition, the face of the eroded terrace

was trimmed and

examined.

The

tests revealed that, except

where

the occupants

had

altered the surface

by

excavation, refuse attributabletothe village

was

confinedto azone justbeneaththe sur- face to a depth of approximately a foot.

At

a depth of about 5 feet,

however, evidences of

an

earlier,

much

less intensiveoccupation

were

consistently

found

in the deepest trenches.

No

extensive excavation of this deeper horizon

was

undertaken afterits detection in 1951, but the limited evidenceindicateda

nonceramic

occupation.

The

houses, apparently always constructed

on

the surface,

were

circular

and

averaged slightly

more

than

40

feet indiameter (pi. 6,b).

All

had 4

center posts

and 9

^{to 16outersupport posts,}

and

frequently there

was

evidence of leaner posts at the peripheries of the struc- tures.

The

central fireplaces

were

always basin-shaped depressions in thelodgefloors, butinsixinstancessandstoneslabs

were

associated with them.

Four

of thepits

had

eitherthesidesaloneorthe sides

and bottom

lined with slabs (pi. 7, c), while in

two

cases slabs

were

laid

upon

the lodge floor surrounding the hearth.

The

entrances,

which

lacked

any

consistent orientation,

were

characterized

by

^{walls consist-} ing of

puncheons

set in trenches (pi. 6, b), a feature described

by Wilson

_(1934, p. 369) ^for Hidatsa earth lodges. Features found within the houses included sweat lodges, fire-screen trenches,

and

NO. 2

SALVAGE PROGRAM,

I95O-I95I

— ^COOPER 43

cache pits, as well as

numerous

posts

which

probably

were

associated with beds

and

other miscellaneous

minor

structures.

There was

abun- dant evidence that several of the lodges

had

burned, but in

many

instances

unburned

post remnants testifiedto destruction

by

^less sud-

den

means.

Cache

pits

were found

both inside

and

outside of the lodges, the locations of the outside ones frequently being

marked by

depressions

on

the surface.

There was

a

marked

absenceofstylization as far as size

and

shapeare concerned.

A

considerable

number were

cylindrical, while the walls of others

expanded

to varying extents.

The

^large, deep, cistern-shapedpits so characteristic of the later vil- lages of the central Plains

were

lacking or exceedingly rare in

Rock

Village.

As

indicated previously, there

was

evidence for expansion of the village at

some

time during its occupation.

A segment

of the original ditch

was abandoned and

a

new segment was

excavated to enclose a larger area.

The

sequential relationshipof the

two

segments is estab- lished

by

the fact thatthe innerone is overlain

by

one or

more

lodges

and by

the refuse with

which

it is filled.

Perhaps

at astill later time the ditch

was

extended to enclose a single houseatthe northeast

end

of the site. Test trenches across the ditches revealed considerable variation in width

and

depth but they

were nowhere

very

wide

or deep; widths of 2.\ to

4^

^feet

and

depths oi 2. \.o 2,\ feet

seem

indi- cated. Post

molds

inalignment outside the

abandoned

portion of the ditch suggest a palisade,

and

there

was

clear evidence of such a fea- ture situated at distances of 2 to 3 feet outside the outer,

and

later,

segment.

The

latter consisted of posts set close together in a trench approximately half a foot

wide and

a foot deep.

Refuse was

relatively

abundant

incachepits,

borrow

pits,theaban-

doned

ditch,

and on

the village surface.

While

materials of

White

provenience occurred in considerable quantities, the

main

reliance of the inhabitants

was

still

on

artifacts of native manufacture.

Few

^of

the metal objects

were

tools, although there is evidence of the use of

heavy

metal implements, probably axes, forshaping

many

of the bone artifacts

and

for cutting timbers.

No

metalaxes orhoes

were

found, but there are a

few

knives or knife parts in the collection.

Most

^of

themetal objects

were

projectile points, tinklers,

and

scraps of brass

and

iron, objects

which

are of little aid in the

problem

of dating.

Other

materials of

White

origin include rather

numerous

glass beads

and some

clay pipes of

European

manufacture.

On

the basis of an examinationof all the trade materials,

Glenn

Black has "guess-dated"

thesite as 1800to 1850plus. This statement

and

thepresence of

two

percussion caps of a type

which

Carlyle S. Smith, of the University

44 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOL, I26