STAR VILLAGE: A FORTIFIED HISTORIC ARI- 
KARA SITE IN MERCER COUNTY, NORTH 
DAKOTA? 
By Grorce Mrrcaur 
INTRODUCTION 
As a part of the River Basin Surveys program a field party of the 
Missouri Basin Project, Smithsonian Institution, conducted excava- 
tions at two sites in Mercer County, N. Dak., during the summer of 
1951. Funds for the work were provided by the National Park Serv- 
ice. Excavation at the first of these sites, Rock Village (832ME15), 
had been started in 1950 by a similar unit under the leadership of G. 
Ellis Burcaw. 
Excavation at the second site, Star Village (32ME16), was carried 
on during the period August 20 to October 25, 1951, most of the time 
with but a small crew. This site was the last to be occupied by the 
Arikara prior to their joining the Mandan and Hidatsa at Like-a- 
Fishhook Village (82ML2). Excavations at the latter site by the 
State Historical Society of North Dakota during 1950 and 1951 had 
yielded little pottery and but few objects of strictly aboriginal origin. 
It was hoped that the Star Village site would yield a good series of 
artifacts that could be unquestionably assigned to the Arikara. The 
artifact yield proved to be disappointingly meager and consisted 
largely of trade goods and of objects which, it is suspected, antedate 
the village. Data were obtained, however, on details of house con- 
struction and village arrangement. 
The field unit which carried on the investigation of the site was 
headed by Donald D. Hartle, assisted by Lynd J. Esch, graduate 
student, University of Indiana. At the time, I was engaged in a 
reconnaissance of the area, also serving as field assistant at the be- 
ginning and at the close of operations there, and visited the site on 
numerous occasions while excavation was in progress. 
It is impossible to acknowledge adequately the many courtesies re- 
ceived by the excavation unit. We wish, however, to thank particu- 
larly the officials of the United States Indian Service stationed at the 
Fort Berthold Indian Reservation and the members of the Tribal 
Council of the Three Affiliated Tribes for permission to excavate on 
1 Submitted March 1958. 
61 
