SECRETARY’S REPORT 71 
to-long entryways. The earlier houses were of rather uniform size 
(about 36 feet in diameter), while the later ones ranged from 19 
feet to 47 feet in diameter. A unique feature was the presence of two 
concentrically superimposed ceremonial lodges, using almost the same 
floor level. One was 77 feet in diameter, superimposed upon one that 
was 64 feet in diameter. All the large ceremonial lodges excavated 
at the Sully site (as well as several of the later dwelling houses) were 
actually polyhedral rather than round, and had between 9 and 12 
sides. 
All occupations of this site were relatively late, with both major 
components (additional minor components have yet to be differenti- 
ated) in the circular-house tradition and probably relating to the 
period between roughly A.D. 1600 and 1750. The pottery sample 
and other artifact inventory is large and varied, but no assessment 
of it has been made at this time. This field party disbanded on Au- 
gust 23, after 10 weeks in the field. 
The second River Basin Surveys field party in the Oahe Reservoir 
area consisted of a crew of eight men, under the leadership of William 
M. Bass III, physical anthropologist. This party devoted the major 
part of the season to excavations in the burial areas of the Sully site 
(89SL4). This was a continuation of work begun in 1957 on a some- 
what smaller scale. Work was concentrated in three areas (Features 
218, 219, and 220) and 161 burials were recovered, bringing the num- 
ber of burials excavated at the Sully site to 224. Only a preliminary 
analysis of the skeletal remains has been made. Bodies were interred 
in shallow oval pits dug into an old surface about 1 foot below the 
current soil level. Burials were predominantly flexed or semiflexed 
and oriented with the head toward the west or northwest. A group 
burial, recovered from Feature 218, appears to be the remnant of a 
scaffold burial. Many of the graves had a covering of small poles, 
but few had grave goods included. The grave goods that were re- 
covered included pottery vessels, ornaments, and an occasional cat- 
linite pipe. 
The Bass party, in addition to work at the Sully site, excavated 
nine rock-cairn burials at the Whistling Hawk site (39SL39), a 
rather ephemeral site on the same terrace 2 miles east of the Sully 
site. Burials were found in each cairn, but significant skeletal re- 
mains were scanty, as most of the bones were badly deteriorated. 
Artifacts with these burials were few. 
At the end of the field season, the Bass party devoted a short period 
to the excavation and collection of a group of burials and associated 
artifacts from a site (89YK202) recently discovered in the course of 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service construction work near the Gavins 
Point Dam. Only the prompt action and complete cooperation 
586608—60——6 
Tae 
