2 PROCEEDINGS OP THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol.73 



apparent when one notes that the ancient Indian village site is 

 usually the most favored location chosen by the modern orchardist 

 for his planting. The reason for this lies in the need of each for 

 protection, shelter, and an adequate water supply. A young orchard 

 can successfully be developed only on a level river bench high 

 enough to be secure against seasonal flood waters and near enough 

 to the towering escarpment of the river bluffs for shelter from the 

 winds which sweep over the plateau above. It was just this type of 

 narrow bench land, located above danger from floods and close to 

 the precipitous basaltic or lava-capped river bluff, that was selected 

 by the prehistoric occupant of the Columbia River Valley as a loca- 

 tion for his permanent winter home. Here, under the practically 

 inaccessible cliff barrier, was security for the primitive group against 

 attack by hostile bands. 



As the middle and upper Columbia River Valley is semiarid and 

 barren to a degree, an adequate water supply is essential. The bench 

 land selected as a village must be neither too high nor the banks too 

 steep to preclude easy access to the river. On the sloping beach 

 below the river bench were obtained useful varieties of stone pebbles, 

 float bowlders, and driftwood. 



From The Dalles, in Oregon, and Spedis, located on the Washing- 

 ton side of the Columbia, to the environs of Kettle Falls, near the 

 Canadian border, the mapping of archeological stations was contin- 

 ued both along the middle and upper Columbia and tributary river 

 valleys as the lower Snake, Yakima, Walla Walla, Deschutes, John 

 Day, Wenatchee, Methow, Okanogan, and others. 



Exploration and study previous to this survey of the prehistoric 

 culture types of the middle and upper Columbia River Valley have 

 been limited in extent or have been supplementary to a project cover- 

 ing another field. Though limited in their scope, these studies have 

 produced conclusive archeological data. 



In volume 1, part 2, of the Memoirs of the American Anthropolog- 

 ical Association, published in 1906, there appears a monograph by 

 Albert B. Lewis on the "Tribes of the Columbia Valley and the Coast 

 of Washington and Oregon." This is an excellent summary of source 

 material concerning the Indian tribes of the Pacific Northwest coast 

 and those of the Columbia and tributary river valleys in so far as 

 early historical contacts, travel, and exploration accounts are con- 

 cerned. Conclusions drawn by Lewis with regard to aboriginal cul- 

 ture areas and subareas, tribal migrations, and trade relationships as 

 they existed at the time contact was first established with the white 

 race through exploring expeditions such as that of Lewis and Clark 

 are still appKcable and are for the most part sound. 



" The stone arrowheads, stone mortars and pestles, and carved stone 

 images and animal heads found along the Columbia from the mouth 



