River Basin Surveys Papers, No. 9: Archeological Investigations in the Heart Butte Reservoir Area North Dakota

Published as a series sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology, the “River Basin Surveys Papers” are a collection of archeological investigations focused on areas now flooded by the completion of various dam projects in the United States. The River Basin Surveys Papers (numbered 1-39) were mostly published in bundles with 5-6 papers in each bundle. In collaboration with the United States (US) National Park Service and the US Bureau of Reclamation, the US Department of the Interior, and the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Smithsonian Institution pulled archeological and paleontological remains from several sites prior to losing access to the sites due to flooding. The Smithsonian Institution calls this project the Inter-Agency Archeological Salvage Program. Paper number 9 focuses on excavation of the Koehler site, directed by Paul L. Cooper during the field season of 1948. Cooper posits that this area was likely a site of “aboriginal activity,” but he does not indicate which tribe(s) had likely occupied the Koehler site. The site is named for August Koehler who was identified as the landowner at the time of the excavation. Cooper offers a summary of other sites in the Heart Butte area and indicates that the Mandan, Hidatsa, and possibly the Crow tribes had inhabited the area. Excavation of the site revealed pottery shards which were not likely coil pots, along with works in stone and bone. No cache pits were found at the site. Cooper concludes that the site was likely occupied during the 18th century. The forward to this bundle of papers indicates that the Heart Butte area was not fully investigated prior to being flooded due to lack of funding. The paper includes illustrations, text figures, and maps.