River Basin Surveys Papers, No. 16: Historic Sites Archeology in the Fort Randall Reservoir South Dakota

This report is a summary of the field activities concerning historic sites archeology in the Fort Randall Reservoir, S.Dak., undertaken in years 1947-52. It is not offered as a final work but is essentially a
summary progress report of reconnaissance and excavation of several historic sites in this area. The work has been conducted as a part of the Inter-Agency Archeological and Paleontological Salvage Program under the direction of Dr. Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr., Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. The field activities at the Fort Randall Reservoir were operated as part of this program through the River Basin Surveys office in Lincoln, Nebr., and were conducted by Smithsonian Institution archeologists out of that office. The organization and background of this program for the recovery of archeological and paleontological remains from areas to be innundated by reservoirs constructed by the Federal Government have been published elsewhere and will not be detailed here. The fieldwork reported here was based principally on past and continuous researches by the Region Two Office of the National Park Service. The analysis of the history of the area by Merrill J. Mattes, regional historian of that office, comprised the basic groundwork upon which archeological reconnaissance and excavations by Smithsonian Institution parties were based.