ARCH HOLOGY OF WYOMING 
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AN ARCHAOLOGICAL RECONNAISSANCE IN WYOMING. 
AST summer the writer made an interesting archeological recon- 
naissance of the southern half of the State of Wyoming. This 
region is near the center of a vast neglected field for archzeo- 
logical research to which attention was called in the Boas Anniversary 
Volume of 1907. 
The neglected area extends from the arctic region on the north to 
the Mandan country of Dakota and the well known archeological field 
of the Mississippi Valley on the east, to the Cliff Dwellings on the south 
and to the rich territory of the Santa Catalina Islands, the Sacramento 
Valley of California, the plateau region of Washington and British 
Columbia on the west. The area is so vast and the problems are so 
numerous, that no one institution, much less any individual, should hope 
to do more than begin the work. 
Among the problems to be solved, the following may be mentioned: 
When did man first appear in the region? Judging from the results of 
exploration in other places, it may take many years of the combined 
efforts of all who are interested before extensive evidence on this point 
is discovered. What was the culture of the first inhabitants? Was 
there more than one culture in the area, either at various places or 
during different periods? How was the culture affected by the intro- 
duction of the horse? No doubt the coming of the horse to a people 
whose only beast of burden had been the dog caused a great advance in 
their general culture, as it would enable them to travel further in search 
of food, to possess and transport more property and to become somewhat 
more independent of the scanty water supply of the region. 
The larger part of the area was inhabited by tribes of Indians be- 
longing to the Athabascan, Algonkin, Siouan and Shoshonean groups. 
An examination of the archeological remains will throw light upon the 
early history of these people and their migrations. 
The central portion of the area was the home of the American bison, 
upon which the Indians, when first met by the whites, depended not 
only for food, but also for the material for clothing, moccasins, covers 
for tipis and ferry boats or rafts, backgrounds upon which to paint 
calendars and other things of like character. The horns and bones 
furnished material for various articles and implements, among which 
may be mentioned spoons, bowls and skin scrapers. 
