52 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950 



was written in collaboration with Dr. John M. Corbett and will be 

 released by the Department of Anthropology, Columbia University. 



RIVER BASIN SURVEYS 

 (Report prepared by Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr.) 



The River Basin Surveys were organized as a unit of the Bureau 

 of American Ethnology in the fall of 1945. Their purpose was to 

 carry into effect a memorandum of understanding between the Na- 

 tional Park Service and the Smithsonian Institution, which provides 

 for the salvage of archeological and paleontological remains occurring 

 in areas to be flooded or otherwise disturbed by the program of the 

 Federal Government for flood-control, irrigation, hydroelectric, and 

 navigation projects. The first actual field work was started in July 

 1946 and has continued since that date. Throughout the period of 

 operations, the investigations have been conducted in cooperation 

 with the National Park Service and the Bureau of Reclamation of 

 the Department of the Interior, the Corps of Engineers, Department 

 of the Army, and a number of nongovernmental institutions scattered 

 throughout various States. During the past fiscal year the work was 

 financed by a transfer of $215,886 to the Smithsonian Institution by 

 the National Park Service, derived in part from the National Park 

 Service and in part from the Bureau of Reclamation. The money 

 from the National Park Service was for use in areas outside of the 

 Missouri Basin, whUe that from the Bureau of Reclamation was for 

 work in the latter area. Because of the fact that the appropriations 

 for fiscal 1950 were made available so late in the summer, the neces- 

 sary funds could not be transferred to the Smithsonian Institution 

 until the period for field work had passed in many areas. Conse- 

 quently, less was accomplished than in previous years. 



Activities during the year included reconnaissance or surveys for the 

 purpose of locating archeological sites or paleontological deposits that 

 will be involved in construction work or are in locations that eventually 

 will be flooded, and in the excavation of sites located by previous 

 surveys. The survey work covered 26 reservoirs located in 8 States 

 and scattered over 5 river basins. Excavations were completed or 

 under way at the end of the fiscal year in 13 reservoir areas in 9 States. 

 Three of the excavation projects were in areas where digging had been 

 done in previous years, while the remainder were new undertakings. 

 At the close of the fiscal year, the total of the reservoir areas, where 

 surveys had been made or excavations carried on since the beginning 

 of the program in July 1946, was 180 located in 23 States. Archeological 

 sites located and recorded have reached a total of 2,260, of which 484 

 have been recommended for excavation or additional testing. During 



