32 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 193 



EXPLORATIONS AND FIELD WORK 



Researches in the field have been carried on as usual by various 

 members of the scientific staff of the Museum, principally by means 

 of funds provided by the Smithsonian Institution through its pri- 

 vate income, with assistance in some instances in the form of con- 

 tributions from friends of the organization who have been interested 

 in different projects. Certain investigations have been financed 

 also under some of the specific funds of the Smithsonian. For some 

 expeditions small allotments have been made from the annual ap- 

 propriations, but these constituted only a small part of the total 

 expenditure for field work, b}' far the greater portion having come 

 from other sources. An additional appropriation that could be 

 used for field researches is a definite need of the National Museum, 

 and would be of great assistance in promoting its work. A brief 

 account of field work for the present year follows : 



During the months of December and January, Henry B. Collins, 

 jr., assistant curator in the division of ethnology, conducted field 

 work in Mississippi, the investigations being carried on in cooper- 

 ation with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, 

 that organization being represented by Messrs. Moreau B. Cham- 

 bers and James A. Ford. The most important result was the finding 

 in Yazoo County of an ancient Indian village site in which the 

 complete floor plan of a large house site was traced by means of 

 the postholes. The structure was round, 60 feet in diameter, and 

 was probablj'' a council house somewhat similar to those described 

 by early explorers in the Creek and Cherokee regions. The open- 

 ing of the fiscal year in July found Mr. Collins in the field excavat- 

 ing at old Eskimo sites on St. Lawrence Island in Bering Sea, and 

 along the coast of Kotzebue Sound in western Alaska. His work 

 included a reconnaissance of the western Alaskan coast from Norton 

 Sound to Point Hope. Actual excavations were carried on at Cape 

 Kialegak on St. Lawrence, Cape Denbigh, Imaruk Basin, and Point 

 Hope, resulting in a large archeological collection. Work on St. 

 Lawrence Island was begun again in June, 1930, with most impor- 

 tant results as indicated by preliminar}'' reports from the field. 

 The National Museum is deeply indebted to the Revenue Cutter 

 Service for its active cooperation in these iuA^estigations through trans- 

 portation provided on its vessels to points otherwise inaccessible. 



Field work in the Dominican Republic was continued by Herbert 

 W. Krieger, curator in the division of ethnology, who began 

 archeological and historical studies in that area in 1928. Mr. Krie- 

 ger's investigations were made possible by the assistance of Dr. W. L. 

 Abbott, whose interest in the island is of long standing and whose 



