534 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1960 



flimsy although fairly permanent, and probably had a roof of brush 

 with a grass and bark or skin covering. The floors were 12 to 18 

 inches below the ground level and formed a circular to oval basin. 

 They had no well-defined pit for domestic fires, which apparently were 

 lighted on the floor near the center of the enclosure. The implements 

 from the house remains and middens do not exhibit as great variety as 

 those from Upper Eepublican sites and in the main were those used for 

 hunting and gathering. Objects made of bone and bone beads were 

 common, and shell was used for making ornaments. Hunting and 

 food gathering were the main means of sustenance. Deer and ante- 

 lope bones were plentiful, with some of bison, although not so numer- 

 ous. The use of small game was evidenced by the large numbers of 

 bird bones scattered through the refuse deposits. There was no evi- 

 dence of horticulture, either direct or inferential. Occupancy of the 

 Woodland villages appears not to have been as permanent as in those of 

 the Upper Republican Aspect. It seems that the Woodland sites must 

 be older, but no definite stratigrapliic evidence was found to show that 

 such was the case. On the basis of knowledge about the Woodland 

 Culture elsewhere, the Medicine Creek remains have been dated ten- 

 tatively as falling witliin the general period A.D. 500 to 1200, while 

 the Upper Republican remains are believed to date from about A.D. 

 1200 to 1500. Thus far it has not been possible to correlate the Upper 

 Republican remains with any of the known tribes, such as the Dakota, 

 Pawnee, or Comanche. That may be done later. 



In the Fort Randall Reservoir area in South Dakota a nimiber of 

 different types of village remains were excavated. At the Oldham 

 site on the east bank of the Missouri River, approximately 10 miles 

 west of the town of Platte, River Basin Surveys parties found evi- 

 dence for three occupations. The first group to live there presumably 

 erected simple dwellings, although traces of them are meager. The 

 people did, however, make extensive use of large cache pits for storing 

 their surplus food. Subsequently a series of earth lodges was built 

 and the village was enclosed by a palisade. The third stage also repre- 

 sented an earth-lodge village which was fortified by an encircling 

 palisade with a moat. In both communities the houses were circular 

 in ground plan. The relationships of the original group have not yet 

 been determined, but indications are that the culture was influenced 

 by or stemmed from some of those farther south and east in the 

 Nebraska area. The intermediate period shows affiliations with the 

 so-called Great Oasis Aspect in Minnesota. The final period possibly 

 represents an outgrowth from the middle period with an admixture of 

 cultural elements from groups farther north along the Missouri River. 

 When studies, on the data obtained at that location have been com- 

 pleted, there no doubt will be good information pertaining to the 



