The Peterson Site (39Lm215) An Earth Lodge Village In The Big Bend Reservoir,South Dakota

Abstract

One circular earth lodge and an interhouse test trench were excavated at the Peterson Site by the Smithsonian Institution, Missouri Basin Projec;t in 1958 prior to the flooding of the area by the Big Bend Reservoir. Surface features indicated that the site was an unfortified village of about 40 lodges. The artifact inventory suggests that the village, which has been tentatively assigned to the Fort Thompson Focus, was probably occupied during the mid-18th century.     

The Function Of The Old Fort In Central Missouri Oneota Subsistence And Settlement Systems

Abstract

The Old Fort is a large Oneota earthwork enclosure situated on a ridge tope overlooking the Missouri River flood-plain. The objective of this inquiry is to determine how the Old Fort functioned in central Missouri Oneota subsistence and settlement systems. Five tenable functions were formulated as hypotheses, then confronted with data from test excavations at the site. Three hypotheses are rejected; the Old Fort was not a fortified village, a redoubt, or a cemetery. Two hypotheses could not be rejected; however, circumstantial evidence supports the tobacco garden hypothesis more than the firebreak refuge hypothesis since the former can account for all of what is currently known about the Oneota enclosure whereas the latter can not. The Old Fort had no direct or obvious role in the subsistence system.     

Ceramics From the Highwalker Site: a Study of Late Prehistoric Period Cultural Systematics on the Northwestern Plains

Abstract

The Highwalker site is a two component prehistoric encampment located in the Pine Parklands region of southeastern Montana. The Late Prehistoric period occupation represents a briefly used, special purpose site occupied by a Native American group primarily engaged in the final butchering of bison and the processing of its by-products. Two radiocarbon samples date the Late Prehistoric period occupation between A.D. 1000 and A.D. 1100. Ceramics recovered from this component shed some light on the debate concerning “Crow Pottery” and Late Prehistoric period cultural systematics. The ceramics represent the earliest known representatives of a localized Powder River Basin pottery tradition which appears to be related to Extended Middle Missouri Tradition ceramics. These nomadic Powder River Basin ceramic-using groups maintained contact with the Middle Missouri village farmers and were influenced by their pottery technology. Later when the ethnographically known Crow moved into the area, the Powder River Basin hunting groups either were amalgamated into Crow society or were driven from the area.     

Range‐wide assessment of pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus (Forbes & Richardson, 1905) relative condition

Pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus relative condition has been observed to be declining along the Nebraska reach (rkm 1212.6–801.3) of the Missouri River over the past several years; therefore, pallid sturgeon capture data was synthesized from the entire Missouri and Middle Mississippi rivers to document and compare how pallid sturgeon condition varies spatially and temporally throughout much of their current range. The study area was subdivided into four river reaches based on a priori statistical differences for pallid sturgeon catches from 2003 to 2015. Pallid sturgeon in the Middle Mississippi River (Alton Dam [rkm 321.9]) to the confluence of the Ohio River (rkm 0.0) were in the best condition while pallid sturgeon in the Middle Missouri River (Fort Randall Dam [rkm 1416.2]) to the Grand River confluence (rkm 402.3) were in the poorest condition. Furthermore, pallid sturgeon condition in the Upper Missouri River (Fort Peck Dam [rkm 2850.9] to the headwaters of Lake Sakakawea [rkm 2523.5] and lower Yellowstone River) and the Lower Missouri River (Grand River confluence to the Mississippi River confluence [rkm 0.0]) were significantly less than in the Middle Mississippi River but significantly higher than the Middle Missouri River. Temporally, pallid sturgeon condition was highly variable. Relative condition in the Middle Mississippi River was consistently above average (Kn = 1.1). Comparatively, Kn throughout the Missouri River rarely exceeded “normal” (Kn = 1.0), with Kn in the middle and lower reaches of the Missouri River having declined to the lowest observed. As pallid sturgeon recovery efforts continue, understanding the range‐wide differences and effects on condition could be critical, as poor condition may cause maturation delays, reproductive senescence or even mortality, which affects the likelihood of natural reproduction and recruitment.     

Archeological Investigations At The McKensey Village (39Ar201) Oahe Reservoir,Central South Dakota

Abstract

The McKensey Site, on the north or right bank of the Missouri River just upstream from the mouth of No Heart Creek, was composed of seventeen house depressions that appeared to be arranged in regular rows or “blocks”. Most of one house was excavated by a Smithsonian Institution field party during the summer of 1960. The structure was of the longrectangular type but it was atypical in that it was quite long in relation to its width and in the presence of a wide, transverse bench at the rear, The associated artifacts were related to the general Thomas Riggs pattern but the site cannot be placed in either the Thomas Riggs focus or the Huff focus,     

A Green Pigment from North Dakota Burial Mounds

Abstract

A clayey, green pigment was found in association with human interments in 3 mounds at the Boundary Mound site (32S11) on the Missouri River 16 miles downstream from Fort Yates, North Dakota.

Samples submitted to the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. were identified by microscopic and chemical analysis as Greensand, a sedimentary deposit containing greenish grains of glauconite. The nearest present day exposure appears to be just south of Wessington Springs, in Jerauld County, South Dakota. This report is the first identifi - cation of greensand as a pigment mineral.     

Some Important Developments in Northern Plains Prehistory, 1942-1967*

Abstract

The area of the Northern Plains is defined as by Wedel in his 1961 synthesis. For the period under consideration, the “process” of archeological work is presented in terms of two main areas of growth--the River Basin Survey Program and the opening up of intensive work in Canada. Also for the period considered, the “results 11 of archeological work are presented in terms of the following eight areas of both fact and theory development: 1) The Middle Missouri “Plains Village” development; 2) Paleo-Indian diversity; 3) Meso-Indian gap filling; 4) Projectile points as diagnostics; 5) Functional interpretations; 6) Ecological prespectives; 7)Relationships outsidethePlains; 8) Broad-ranging synthesis. Future developments are seen in the need and possibilities for historic work, preparation of syntheses and the deeper development of micro-analytic approaches.     

Ethnic Identification Of An Historic Sac Burial From Northeastern Kansas

Abstract

A partial human skeleton, associated with a number of white manufactured goods, has been excavated on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River. It is a male about 20 years of age and about five feet two inches in height. He is identified as a Sac Indian who was interred between 1840 and 1860.     

The Dune Buggy Site, 24RV1, and Northwestern Plains Ceramics

Abstract

The study of ceramics in the northwestern Plains has lagged since Wissler included “the lack of pottery” as one of the core Plains traits. In recent years, however, the poor development in ceramic studies is due to the lack of reported sites rather than a real void. The first part of this paper describes the Dune Buggy site and its large ceramic collection. In the second part, the pottery is identified as belonging to a non-Middle Missouri tradition and related to sites in northeastern Montana, southeastern Saskatchewan southwestern Manitoba and northwestern North Dakota. The combinations of profile, designs, and decoration appear to be heterogeneous, and an analogy is drawn to the historic period for the area to suggest an explanation for the apparent mixing. Specific problems include the lack of absolute dates and stratigraphic relationships, unpublished data, and potentially mixed components.     

The Black Partizan Site (39Lm218), Big Bend Reservoir: South Dakota: A Preliminary Report

Abstract

The Black partizan Site, a large fortified village situated in the constricted neck of the Big Bend of the Missouri River, Lymar County, South Dakota, was excavated by field parties of the Missouri Basin Project, Smithsonian Institution, during the field seasons of 1957 and 1958.

In total, 15 structures or areas designated as features were investigated. These included 3 midden areas, concentrations of cache pits, sectional cuts through the defensive ditch, and a bastion strong point. Four large circular houses were investigated, 2 in an area just outside of the fortified perimeter and 2 within the village proper. An additional house, probably square, and another of indeterminate outline were also excavated from the latter area.

The artifact collection is large and varied, but to date, only the ceramic sample has been examined in detail. Slightly less than 17,000 sherds were excavated, of which 2400 were rim sections- the latter have been tentatively classified as follows: Russel Ware (plain, diagonal, horizontal incising), Campbell Creek Ware, Talking Crow Ware, Arzberger, and other collared rims. On the basis of ceramics and architectural remains, components related to both the Campbell Creek and Fort Thompson Foci are surely present. A further occupation, poorly defined as yet, seems to equate to Talking Crow C.     

Notes on Omaha Ethnohistory, 1763-18201

Abstract

When first known to Whites, the Omaha were east and north of the Missouri River; they are not reported west of that stream until the late 18th century. At that time they occupied parts of what is now northeastern Nebraska, with their major villages and hunting territory in that area. Trade influences, direct and indirect, probably first reached them in 1700. Contact with the Spanish and later French was principally economic, but there were accompanying major changes in political organization, especially in the authority of chiefs, even before the time of Lewis and Clark.     

Salvage Archaeology at a Site Near Fort Thompson. South Dakota

Abstract

Construction of dams and reservoirs along the Missouri River has resulted in an accelerated program of archaeological field-work. Many sites have been surveyed, numerous others tested, and a lesser number extensively excavated. Surveys and test excavations will add to previously gathered data in terms of the geographical distribution of diagnostic artifacts, speculative routes of migration and cultural diffusion. The minutiae from the tested sites may offer reasons for the re-evaluation of established concepts or they may strengthen current archaeological interpretations.

The Farm School site, reported here, received limited tests. The artifact inventory suggests the presence of 2 ceramic components and contributes to information regarding the Fort Thompson and Campbell Creek foci in South Dakota.     

French marine policy in the 1970s and 1980s

Abstract

France, hitherto more “continental”; than “maritime,”; increasingly developed its ocean activities in the 1970s and 1980s. This article describes the different sectors of its marine activities and evolvement of a different outlook concerning the sea. Important events such as the 1976 Proclamation and subsequent implementation of the French 200‐nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone, and 1981 formation of a new Socialist government in France after 23 years of uninterrupted “Gaullist”; rule, offered a unique opportunity to restructure marine policy. The new Ministry of the Sea was intended to integrate marine policy and cater to a developing ocean “constituency.”; It was eventually downgraded to a “Secrétariat d'Etat,”; but its impact was undeniably important.     

Quantification Methodology of “Health Human Resources” Related to “Health Technologies” Based on Indicators “RhSan”, “TechSan” and “RhTech”: Application to Senegal

ObjectivesAfter a century of spectacular advances, healthcare systems are facing unprecedented crisis, linked to shortage of health human resources and health technologies. In fact, availability of care depends on both technological and human resources of health. The objective of this study is to develop indicators that can measure qualitatively human resources and technologies of health in healthcare facilities, in order to assess availability of care in sub-Saharan African countries.Materials and MethodsRegarding “health technology” related to “medical devices”, an indicator called “TechSan” for “Technologies de Santé” was previously developed and published (Ndione FB et al. (2019) [6]). To address the deficiencies in usual indicators related to health human resources, a second indicator called “RhSan” for “Ressources humaines de santé” in French is proposed. This indicator assigns a weight to each health worker taking into account his specific “level of medical knowledge” and “experience”. In order to correlate “RhSan” with “TechSan”, a third indicator called “RhTech” is also developed to assess matches between “health technologies” and “health human resources” and establish realistic availability of care. These indicators have the advantage to be consolidated by specialty such as laboratory, imaging, surgery, and “mother and child care”.ResultsThe application of TechSan, RhSan and RhTech to data collected in Senegal in 2016, enabled to assess the distribution of “health technology” and “health human resources” in this country. They also permit the mapping of care availability per specialty in Senegal. The results show a strong oversupply of Dakar in terms of both human resources and technologies of health compared to other Senegalese regions. Oppositely, Sedhiou, Kaffrine, Matam and Kédougou are poorly endowed showing limits of the Senegalese health pyramid system.ConclusionTechSan, RhSan and RhTech can provide reliable decision-making tools in order to elaborate health policies in sub-Saharan African countries on more rigorous basis.     

Cross Ranch: A Study of Variability in a Stable Cultural Tradition

Abstract

Work in the Missouri River valley has yielded information on the earliest through historic sedentary, horticultural occupations. In the Cannonball region of North Dakota, previous studies have (1) established the presence of two cultural traditions (the Middle Missouri and Coalescent), and (2) outlined major shifts in intra-tradition and occupational patterns. Tests and excavations at the Cross Ranch (320L 14) and Clark’s Creek (32ME 1) sites provide the first information on the early sedentary occupation of the Knife-Heart region. Remains from these sites are similar to those in Middle Missouri tradition sites in the adjacent Cannonball region. This study defines and evaluates variation in the ceramic and lithic technologies within the seemingly stable Middle Missouri cultural tradition by using new analytic techniques, statistical methods and computer analysis. Previously reported material and new data are analyzed and compared. Radiocarbon dates which range from the 12th through mid-15th centuries provide temporal control. Analysis of the fauna and flora indicate a stable subsistence based on hunting and horticulture. The artifact assemblages suggest general cultural stability and persistence. There are, however, subtle differences in the lithics and ceramics, most of which reflect changes through time by people sharing the same general potting and stone working practices. It is hypothesized that Clark’s Creek represents a northern component of the Fort Yates phase. A Nailati phase is posited on the basis of formal and temporal variation between Cross Ranch and the Fort Yates phase sites.     

Theodore H. Lewis and his Northeastern Nebraska “Forts”1

Abstract

The inveterate fieldman and surveyor, T. H. Lewis, visited northeastern Nebraska in his quest for archaeological sites in the fall of 1890. He recorded four earthworks there, only one of which (Ponca Fort, 25KX1) was recorded by later workers. His field maps, published here for the first time, are accompanied by comments on the success the author has had in relocating these earthworks. Only Ponca Fort is clearly identifiable today. One enclosure, near the town of Wynot, may be part of the “Bad Village” of the Omaha; another, near Hartington, has been plowed level and yields no surface remains. The fourth earthwork, near the town of Ponca, cannot be located.     

Geology of Archeological Site 48SH312, Wyoming

Abstract

Archeological Site 48SH312 occurs upon slightly weathered shale in the uppermost portion ot the Fort Union Formation (Paleocene) of eastern Sheridan County, Wyoming. Only a trace of a paleosol is developed on the shale. Colluvium overlies the shale. The site is a small remnant of a ravine floor which existed during Kaycee time. Physiography of the present ravine and local distribution of resistant lenticular strata in the Fort Union Formation, suggest that the paleo-ravine was a box ravine with near vertical walls of 5-10 meters. Paleosol development, weathering features, and homogeneity of colluvium are interpreted as indicating a surface that represents late Kaycee time and provides a geological age for the site of 3500 to 4000 years before present.     

Temporal Ordering and the Chouteau Aspect

Abstract

Temporal ordering of closely-related sites in the Oahe, Big Bend and Fort Randall Reservoirs of South Dakota may be accomplished by a simple seriation of selected traits common to, and diagnostic of, the related sites. The resultant ordering is best interpreted as three “blocks” of time within a temporal unit. The chronology inferred from the ordering reinforces the present known dates of the Chouteau Aspect as well as sites culturally and temporally marginal to the Chouteau Aspect.