XO. 2 SMITIISOXIAX EXI'LORATIOXS, lylS 97 



A [any mullers and metates lay ])r(jmisciiously about, and two of the 

 latter were pitted on the ^rindin^' surface, showin;^ secondary use as 

 mortars. Mint chi])s and projectiles seemed unusualh' numerous, but 

 potsherds, although of the customar\- t\"ijes found on " Cireenland," 

 were surprisingly few in number. 



Cliff-houses are not so plentiful as might be ex])ected in the 

 breaks bordering the W'alhalla I'lateau and these are, almost without 

 exception, small single-room storage cists built by the inhabitants 

 of the open houses among the pines and l^ack some distance from the 

 rim. -Man}- of these cists have been occupied recentl\- as shelters by 

 white hunters — the smoke stains on the cave roof will not be con- 

 fused with those left by aborigines. Dwellings protected by shallow 

 caves are not unknown, however, and. although small, they add much 

 to the picturesqueness of the country and to the less easily under- 

 stood ruins of the mesa tops. Cliff-dwellings not visited during the 

 recent reconnoissance are reported along the trailless ledges far 

 below the tioor of " Greenland '' ; others are know to exist in the 

 " sand hills " and the red ledges of Pahreah Plateau. The difficulty 

 of studying these remains is greatly enhanced b\- the infrequent 

 sources of water supply and lack of forage for saddle and pack 

 animals. As in other sections of the Southwest, the prehistoric dwell- 

 ings are not always to be found in the vicinity of existing springs 

 or water |)ockets. 



ARCHEOLUGICAL STUDIKS [X CEXTRAL MISSOL'RI 



-Mr. ( ierard bVjwke, a collaljorator of the liureau. made a recon- 

 noissance in the ( Jzark region of south central Missouri. The j^ur- 

 pose of the work was to locate and examine, as far as was feasible, 

 all archeological remains, but with ])articular reference to caverns 

 which afford evidence of having been used as ])laces of shelter in 

 I>rehistoric times. As the area in (|UCstion includes the ])rincipal 

 cave region King east of the di\ide which separates these streams 

 from the drainage basin of White River in the southwestern ])art ot 

 the State, a careful investigation was desirable. 



It aj^pears that Phelps and Pulaski (ounties w^'re ciMUi'rs of 

 alujriginal p(jpulation. Tlu-re arc- niaiu' ca\-erns. larL;e and sih.-lII, 

 a majority of them showing aliundanl (.-Nidcnce of llu-ir foinin- 

 occujjancy. Potsherds, broken animal bono, mortar stones, llim 

 chi|)S and sjjalis. broken implements of sionr. bont- pert'oi-.-iidis, .uid 

 especially mussel .shells, ma\' be found undci- the present tloors of tin- 

 caves, and excavation sIk)Ws them to coiitinuc to a coiisidrr.ible 

 de]»th. usual]\- to llu- bottom ot the tnu', Ioosi\ caw f.artb which rests 



