66 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I26 



habitable surface there shows evidence of occupation in the form of 

 depressions numbering from two or three to several dozen. A con- 

 siderable time range for the occupations is suggested by the collections 

 recovered. 



During the latter part of October and through the month of No- 

 vember 1950, and again in the summer of 195 1, Lehmer excavated a 

 portion of the Philip Ranch site (39ST14) in the work area below 

 the dam and about a mile downstream from the Dodd site. This is a 

 very well-preserved village with a ditch entirely enclosing an oval area 

 approximately 400 feet long and 250 feet wide situated at the edge of 

 the first terrace above the river bottom (pi. 11 a). Well-defined de- 

 pressions indicated the presence of 23 lodge sites and a few smaller de- 

 pressions probably mark the locations of cache pits. Oddly enough, 

 in view of its conspicuous character and accessibility, the site appeared 

 to have suffered from none of the haphazard but often extensive pit- 

 ting which has been the fate of so many in the area. This is probably 

 explainable in terms of the tight sod cover which has prevented the 

 outcropping of cultural debris. Several examinations of the surface 

 prior to 1950 had resulted in the collection of less than 50 sherds, 

 generally small and unimpressive. 



Fairly extensive excavations in the area of the ditch revealed that 

 the bottom of this feature was about 6 feet beneath the present sur- 

 face and was U-shaped. Evidence was uncovered of an uncompleted 

 stockade on the village side of the ditch. Ten houses, 107 cache pits, 

 and 8 borrow pits, in addition to a number of such features as hearths, 

 were excavated. All evidence indicates that a single occupation is 

 represented here. The houses, none of which were superimposed, 

 were circular and generally similar to those of the late component 

 at the Dodd site, although there were some differences in details. 

 Cache pits beneath the floors of the houses were numerous and were 

 often large. One unusually large house, with a double row of outer 

 posts, had an earthen platform against the wall opposite the entrance, 

 presumably indicating a specialized function for the lodge (pi. 11, b). 

 Many of the outside cache pits and borrow pits were found in an area 

 of the site of about 175 square yards which was completely stripped 

 to reveal the relationships of features outside the houses. 



No burials were found within the village or in test trenches exca- 

 vated in the vicinity, but occasional scattered human bones were found 

 within the occupational deposits. 



The material culture manifested at the Philip Ranch site is closely 

 related to that of the latest occupation of the Dodd site. There are 

 some differences, however, in pottery and other traits (e.g., fortifica- 



