36 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. Ill 



or partial enclosures. Extensive pitting has been done by relic col- 

 lectors. In these pits and in test excavations by the River Basin 

 Surveys party, the soil contains partly burnt and decomposed bison 

 hair, hooves, and bones, charcoal, ash, and fire-broken stones. The 

 tests also shovi^ed that this material occurs in two, three, or more levels 

 separated and capped by thin strata of culturally barren soil. The 

 observed thickness of deposit varies from i foot upward, with the 

 deepest bone layer noted at approximately 30 inches ; greater depths 

 have been reported by local collectors. Numerous small projectile 

 points, mostly triangular in form with a single pair of side notches, 

 were recovered. There is some evidence that significant type differ- 

 ences may exist between the points from various parts of the kill area 

 and also between those from different levels. Local reports that 

 "post holes" have been noted from time to time, if correct, suggest 

 the use of corrals or barricades. 



PALEONTOLOGY 



The Missouri River Basin has long been noted among scientists 

 for the wealth and variety of its paleontological resources. Systematic 

 collecting of the remains of extinct animals and plants began with 

 Hayden's geological survey of the Nebraska Territory in the middle 

 of the nineteenth century. In the past 90 years, field parties from 

 many museums and institutions have been successfully at work in 

 numerous widely scattered localities. It has been estimated that three- 

 fourths of the fossil materials in several of the larger museums of the 

 nation were gathered in the Missouri River watershed. 



The extraordinary richness of the Basin in this respect is due to 

 its vast extent, its varied topography, and the long span of geologic 

 time revealed thereby. At one place or another, the processes of 

 uplift, deposition, and erosion have brought to light exposures of 

 nearly all the geologic periods from Paleozoic times to the Recent. 

 In these exposures are to be found a great variety of plant fossils, 

 as well as vertebrate remains ranging from fishes through reptiles, 

 including such spectacular giants as the Brontosaurus and the Dip- 

 lodocus, to birds and mammals. 



In order to meet its commitments to the National Park Service 

 and thd construction agencies with respect to the possible effect of 

 water-control projects on paleontological resources, the River Basin 

 Surveys added a paleontologist to its professional staff early in 1947. 

 In this capacity. Dr. T. E. White arrived at the Lincoln headquarters 

 of the Missouri Valley project on April 29 and prepared for im- 

 mediate field work. 



