PREFACE 



In 1947 an archeological field party, sponsored by the University of 

 North DaI?:ota and the State Historical Society of North Dakota, 

 carried out excavations in the upper limits of the Oahe Reservoir, in 

 North Dakota. Test excavations were made at the Paul Brave site 

 (32SI4), also known as the Fort Yates site. The elevation of this 

 prehistoric village is between 1,600 and 1,610 feet. The site will be 

 flooded by the Oahe Reservoir when backwater reaches the maximum 

 pool level of 1,620 feet. The work in 1947 was directed by Dr. Gor- 

 don W. Hewes, then with the University of North Dakota. The 

 limited excavations in 1947 indicated the desirability of further and 

 more intensive work at the site, and in 1955 the State Plistorical Society 

 of North Dakota sponsored a second party for full-scale excavation. 



Funds were made available for tliis archeological salvage work 

 through a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service. 

 Between July 6, 1955, and August 30, 1955, excavation was carried 

 out under our supervision when we were both staff archeologists with 

 the State Historical Society. The assistance of Oriol Pi-Sunyer, then 

 a graduate student at Harvard, is gratefully acknowledged. The 

 genial and competent crew members contributed further to the sum- 

 mer's accomplishments. These were Stephen W. Robinson and Robert 

 P. Barr, of Grand Forks, N. Dak., and Russell B. Lawrence and Robert 

 F. Gipp. of Fort Yates, N. Dak. 



The overburden at the site necessitated the use of a bulldozer, which 

 was rented from the Standing Rock Tribal Council, and operated 

 by Jack McLaughlin of Shields, N. Dak. The use of this machine 

 implemented the removal of the nearly 3 feet of sterile overburden 

 from the house floors. The River Basin Surveys, Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution, provided the field party with cameras and other equipment 

 necessary to document features fomid in tlie excavations. We took 

 aerial photographs on a flight early in September 1955. 



We wish to thank Robert L. Stephenson, Charles H. McNutt, and 

 Warren Caldwell for constructive criticism of this report. Joseph 

 P. E. Morrison identified the shell material from the site. Russell 

 Reid, superintendent of the State Historical Society of Nortli Dakota, 

 assisted in the identification of the baked clay animal figurines from the 

 site and aided the investigators in many other ways. Photographic 

 plates were prepared with the assistance of Bernard Weinreich, Bis- 



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