SECRETARY'S REPORT 55 



the orientation was not consistent and the village pattern was by no 

 means as regular as had been anticipated. The village had only one 

 extended occupation. It appears that the houses had been arranged 

 in streets or blocks but subsequent growth was haphazard and un- 

 planned. There is further support of this view in relation to the 

 defensive features of the village. The entire occupation area is 

 mantled by midden debris and wind-blown silts to such an extent 

 that the moat was completely obscured. At least one late house 

 (Feature 7) was built athwart the moat, which was already filled with 

 refuse and could have had but little usefulness for defensive purposes. 

 Feature 7 was smaller and less complex than the other houses. 



Mantling all the houses were several soil zones, the earliest of which 

 was particularly evident. It is tempting to equate this with a severe 

 drought in the Central Plains during the last quarter of the 13th 

 century. Drought conditions may well have been a disruptive factor 

 that brought progTessive changes and collapse to this village. The 

 houses excavated (Features 2, 4, and 7) were uniformly of the long 

 rectangular type but differed in details. All were deep, with floors 

 excavated 2 to 3 feet below the old occupation surface, which in turn 

 was 2 to 4 feet below the present surface. In each the floor had been 

 painted with a red, mineral paint and in Feature 4 there were two 

 such painted floors separated by 0.2 foot of sterile fill. The entrance 

 to each house was a wide ramp from the old surface to the floor. In 

 Feature 4, the ramp led across a wide platform and ended in a low 

 step. On either side of the ramp was a narrow trench that continued 

 across the front of the trench, separating it from the house proper. 

 There was a similar trench in Feature 2. 



A large number of bell-shaped cache pits were found beneath the 

 floor of Feature 2, but not in the other houses. Features 2 and 4 con- 

 tained much bison bone, particularly skulls, lying on the floor and 

 within the mantling fill. They were notably absent from Feature 7, 

 suggesting a change in cultural emphasis or perhaps in local ecology. 

 In each house the firepit was located on the centerline just inside the 

 inner end of the ramp. Superstructures of all three houses were 

 nearly identical. Posts 2 or 3 feet apart were set at the base of the 

 wall excavation and, except for the entrance, continued around the 

 entire perimeter. Central posts were absent but were replaced by 

 roof supports in two rows, each a short distance from the centerline. 



A large area between Features 2 and 4 was cleared to the old sur- 

 face and two thick midden deposits were trenched. The defensive 

 moat was located and sectioned in six places, tracing it through Fea- 

 ture 7 and around a bastioned corner. Uniformly the moat was 3 to 5 

 feet deep with a maximum width of 10 feet. The accompanying 

 stockade was not discernible. Artifacts were abundant in the midden 



672-174—63 5 



