River Basin Surveys Papers, No. 16: Historic Sites Archeology in the Fort Randall Reservoir South 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 16 is summary of archeology field activity between 1947-1952 in the Fort Randall Reservoir, South Dakota. The author offers some background on the area from European explorers’ perspectives. The paper cover six sites in summary: Fort Randall (39GR15), Whetstone Indian Agency and Army Post (29GR4), Lower Brulé Indian Agency (39LM54), Fort Lower Brulé (39LM53), Fort Lookout military and trading posts (39LM57), and Fort Hale (39LM52). For most of the sites, the author provides an introduction, a discussion of excavation, a discussion of artifacts, and a summary. This paper includes photographs, illustrations, text figures, and a map.