EIGHTY-FIRST AJSTNUAL REPORT 13 



The remaining sites investigated, 39DW230, 39DW229, 39DW228, 

 39DW253, and 39DW254:, were unfortified; pottery attributed to the 

 La Roche horizon was usual. Portions of houses were excavated at 

 39DW228, 39DW229, and 39DW230. In each case the houses were 

 circular with a central firepit and four central roof supports. 



A number of additional sites were mapped or examined and a brief 

 period was devoted to explorations at the Stelzer site. The latter is 

 quite large, extending along the river for at least three-quarters of a 

 mile. Mallory's tests were placed near the eastern end of the site. 

 The pottery found here was identical to that found by Neuman's con- 

 tinuing excavations near the western edge. The Mallory party 

 shared camp facilities with the Neuman crew, and returned to Lincoln 

 on August 23 after 74 days in the field. 



A third party of 12 men was directed by Dr. Alfred W. Bowers of 

 the University of Idaho but temporarily attached to the Smithsonian 

 Institution. The Bowers crew excavated at three small fortified vil- 

 lage sites in the immediate vicinity of Mobridge, S. Dak. At the Eed 

 Horse Hawk site (39C034), on the right bank of the Missouri, con- 

 tinuing work begun in the summer of fiscal year 1963, the excavation 

 of 15 shallow circular houses was completed and the fortification ditch 

 was tested in several places. This village, which is probably pro- 

 tohistoric, has produced a wealth of museum display specimens and is 

 one of the two or three completely excavated sites within the Oahe 

 Reservoir. 



Work was also renewed at the Davis site (39C014), a fortified vil- 

 lage adjacent to the Red Horse Hawk site, continuing 1963 excava- 

 tions. During the current season investigations were hampered by 

 drought conditions which made the soil both intractable and "unread- 

 able." With the use of a water wagon and power equipment, one lodge 

 was completely excavated and the covering fill was removed from four 

 others, but work could be carried no further. 



The Davis site is an exceedingly important one because it appears to 

 bridge the temporal gap between the rectangular and circular house 

 complexes. The early component at the Davis site is distinctive in 

 that lodges are placed within the bastions at the corners of the fortifi- 

 cation, thus limiting the entrance passage to a narrow lane around the 

 lodge. 



Work was begun at the Larson site (39WW2), a small compact 

 village on the left bank of the Missouri River south of Mobridge. The 

 site consists of 29 circular depressions tightly clustered within an oval 

 fortification ditch. Ten of the lodge depressions were trenched and 

 two were completely excavated. The latter seem to have been rebuilt 

 several times, but each new construction was smaller than the previous 

 one. The most recent occupation seems to have been brought to an 



