NO. 2 MISSOURI VALLEY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM WEDEL 4/ 



culture that culminated in the historic Mandan-Hidatsa complex 

 observed farther to the north in and after the middle of the eighteenth 

 century. Tentatively, it is suggested that the time period represented 

 may be in the century between 1350 and 1450- 



An area of several acres extent on Four-Mile Creek, about 2 miles 

 from the Missouri, was found to be littered with bison bones eroding 

 from an indurated clay stratum. Several flints that may represent 

 crude tools were found in the same area, but their association with 

 the bones is uncertain. There is a possibility that a prepottery hunt- 

 ing culture is represented here, but additional research is necessary 

 to determine the true facts in the matter. 



CONCLUSIONS 



From the reconnaissance, intensive surveys, and limited excavations 

 carried on through 1947, it is manifestly impossible to reach any fixed 

 or definitive conclusions regarding broader aspects of the aboriginal 

 history of the Missouri River Basin. It can be stated truthfully that 

 the River Basin Surveys work to date has served mainly to indicate 

 the magnitude and complexity of the problems involved, with some 

 rather promising leads as to where partial answers to some of the 

 problems may profitably be sought. Throughout the body of this brief 

 report I have occasionally ventured opinions, tentative conclusions, 

 and suggestions. In concluding this summary, therefore, I shall try 

 to indicate only some of the highlights of work so far and to suggest 

 certain additional avenues of approach to further information. 

 Primary emphasis will be on the work of the River Basin Surveys, 

 with which I am most intimately familiar. 



Noteworthy is the fact that the sampling technique necessarily 

 imposed on the River Basin Surveys program thus far is producing 

 an impressive mass of information from widely scattered localities 

 in the Missouri River watershed. Operating through 1947 mainly 

 on the first, or reconnaissance, phase of the salvage work, we now 

 have spot-check data on the archeological resources of approximately 

 50 localities, each of restricted areal extent. In each locality where 

 remains have been found, there are indications of aboriginal occupa- 

 tions of diverse character; and frequently these, when appraised in 

 the light of what is known for the general area, also give clues to 

 the succession of native occupations. When these various now sepa- 

 rate bits of information will have been properly classified and fitted 

 into their appropriate place in the over-all picture, definitive conclu- 

 sions may be expected to result. 



