228 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 93 



each layer was carefully cleaned off ])rinr to excavation to prevent 

 mixture of artifacts. All the material was screened. Near the edges 

 of the butte the material from levels II and III could not be segregated 

 with safety, because of the closeness with which they approached each 

 other. This mixed material is not considered in this re}X)rt. Before 

 leaving the butte a lead pipe marking the datum point of our work, 

 which was carved on it, was set in rocks and buried to aid future 

 workers. We filled in our trenches and with Mr. Simpson's assistance 

 made every ettort to protect the site from vandalism. Our efforts 

 unfortunately were largely unavailing, as the butte was immediately 

 invaded by swarms of relic hunters, who have since destroyed much 

 priceless evidence in the unexcavated area. Fortunately, we have a 

 good record for one half of this unique and invaluable site, but it is 

 tragic that mere curiosity and acquisitiveness on the part of a few 

 individuals should be permitted to destroy a historical monument and 

 scientific record which was truly an American heritage. 



CULTURAL EVIDENCE BY LEVELS 



In the upper sod and on the surface a few glass beads and objects 

 of trade copper were found. Below the sod line no historic material 

 was encountered. This top li feet, comprising level III of prehistoric 

 human occupation, is not very clearly marked and gives evidence of 

 sporadic rather than continuous occui)ation. Several fireplaces and a 

 number of small storage pits containing a few potsherds and artifacts 

 were encountered. One such pit contained the skull of a wolf and the 

 mandible of a child. Several partial bundle burials in small, slab-lined 

 cists, a few flexed child burials, and one complete skeleton of an adult 

 male seated on a large rock were encountered in level III. Level II is 

 indicated by a faint and rather thin black line representing a soil line 

 and a brief occupational horizon (pi. 23, fig. 2, and fig. 29). Its arti- 

 fact content is definite but very limited in extent, suggesting a uniform 

 but sparse, and probably brief, occu])ation. It contains a number of 

 shallow fire pits with blackened soil and charcoal. The charcoal from 

 this level was pronounced to be juniper but proved unsuitable for 

 dendrochronological determinations. Scnne of the fire pits were stone- 

 lined. There were a few small storage i)its on this level, and one con- 

 tained a considerable amount of red hematite. Others contained broken 

 up animal bcjnes and a few artifacts. Level I is thick and black (pi. 27,, 

 fig. 3) and contained a great amount of cultural detritus and broken 

 animal bones. Some of the latter are partially mineralized. On this 

 level occur numerous small, pot-shaped storage pits dug down into the 

 underlying silt and gravel. These were sometimes lined with rock 



