NO. 2 SALVAGE PROGRAM, I95O-I95I — COOPER 45 



tity of Steatite specimens. A steatite vessel in the collections of the 

 River Basin Surveys somewhat resembling in form and technique of 

 manufacture the vessel from Rock Village came from the vicinity of 

 of the Wind River, western Wyoming, according to the donor. 



After the termination of work at Rock Village, the party headed 

 by Hartle undertook excavations in the Star Village (32ME16), 

 identified as the last home of the Arikara before they moved across 

 the river to join the Mandan and Hidatsa at Like-a-Fishhook Village. 

 The village was briefly described and its abandonment mentioned in 

 a report of 1862 from the Agent for the Upper Missouri (Commis- 

 sioner of Indian Affairs, 1863, p. 194) and was referred to by several 

 of Libby's Arikara informants (Libby, 1920, pp. 187, 195, 204). It 

 is a large site of approximately 90 conspicuous house rings enclosed 

 within a well-defined ditch. The excavations uncovered five earth- 

 lodge floors, three other post-mold patterns, a gateway through the 

 ditch, and sections of the ditch itself. One of the lodges, all of which 

 were circular, was of particular interest. Situated in the center of the 

 village and of unusual size, it was presumably a ceremonial structure. 

 Averaging approximately 70 feet in diameter, it was supported by 4 

 center posts and 20 outer posts the molds of which had average diam- 

 eters and depths of nearly i^ feet. As in the case of the houses at 

 Rock Village, the walls of the entrance of this structure rose from 

 narrow trenches and, in addition, the butts of the leaners stood in a 

 rather irregular trench which ran continuously around the house ex- 

 cept where it was interrupted by the entryway. At least in the places 

 where it was trenched, the defensive ditch was a rather unimpressive 

 structure. Its depth beneath the general surface was 2 feet and less 

 and the walls in general were rather gently sloping; its effectiveness 

 as a protective feature was enhanced, however, by piling the exca- 

 vated dirt along the outside of the trench. As at Rock Village, evi- 

 dence of such specialized features as bastions was lacking. 



As was to be expected in view of the late date (1862) and the 

 brief occupancy (about 3 months) of the village, artifacts were not 

 abundant in the excavations and objects of native manufacture were 

 especially scanty. There were a few stone artifacts, including a well- 

 chipped triangular point with straight base and a pair of side notches, 

 an ovate scraper, retouched flakes, and a whetstone. Most of the 

 chipped objects are of "Knife River flint," and the whetstone is of 

 fine-grained sandstone. Two or three bone fragments were modified 

 in a minor fashion, but there are no indubitable implements of that 

 material. Also, about the same number of shell fragments bear evi- 

 dence of cutting or perforating. Approximately 300 pottery sherds, 



