XO. 6 MISSOURI VALLEY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM WEUEL 1 7 



by the white man. Viewed in this light, the possibilities inherent in a 

 sustained, comprehensive, and unified Basin-wide program of archeo- 

 logical investigation seem obvious. Even with such practical limita- 

 tions as may be enforced by the general developmental program, there 

 is still a rare opportunity to attack scientific problems of native cul- 

 tural development in time and space throughout a vast and important 

 region of the interior United States. Properly done, such a pro- 

 gram cannot fail to add materially to the story of the people who 

 preceded the white man in the New World. Just as the welfare of 

 the present-day residents of the Basin is interwoven with that of peo- 

 ples far beyond its limits, so its prehistory is part of a larger story of 

 man's evolution and cultural development. It is the recovery, preser- 

 vation, and interpretation of such of the threatened irreplaceable basic 

 data as time and means permit that comprises the work of the Mis- 

 souri River Basin Survey. 



