Dam Projects and the Growth of American Archaeology: The River Basin Surveys and the Interagency Archeological Salvage Program

319 Pages·2014·11.56 MB·English

by  Kimball M Banks

DAM PROJECTS AND THE GROWTH
OF AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY
DeDication
This book is dedicated to those men and women of the IASP, RBS, and the
cooperating institutions who set the path for those of us who followed.
DAM PROJECTS AND THE
GROWTH OF AMERICAN
ARCHAEOLOGY
The River Basin Surveys and the Interagency
Archeological Salvage Program
Editors
Kimball M. Banks
Jon S. Czaplicki
Walnut Creek, California
LEFT COAST PRESS, INC.
1630 North Main Street, #400
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
http://www.LCoastPress.com
Copyright © 2014 by Left Coast Press, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
ISBN 978-1-61132-174-6 hardback
ISBN 978-1-61132-176-0 institutional eBook
ISBN 978-1-61132-766-3 consumer eBook
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Dam projects and the growth of American archaeology: the River Basin Surveys and
the Interagency Archeological Salvage Program/edited by Kimball M. Banks and Jon
S. Czaplicki.
      pages cm
Summary: “The Smithsonian Institution’s River Basin Surveys and the Interagency
Archeological Salvage Program were the most ambitious archaeological projects ever
undertaken in the United States. Administered by the National Park Service from 1945–
1969, the programs had profound effects—methodological, theoretical, and historical—
on American archaeology, many of which are still being felt today. They stimulated the
public’s interest in heritage preservation, led to the passage of the National Historic
Preservation Act, served as the model for rescue archaeology in other countries, and
helped launch the ‘New Archaeology.’ This book examines the impacts of these two
programs on the development of American archaeology”—Provided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61132-174-6 (hardback) — ISBN 978-1-61132-176-0 (institutional
eBook) — ISBN 978-1-61132-766-3 (consumer eBook)
1. Archaeology—United States—History—20th century. 2. Salvage archaeology—
United States—History—20th century. 3. Archaeological surveying—United States—
History—20th century. 4. Archaeology and state—United States—History—20th
century. 5. Historic preservation—United States—History—20th century. 6. River
Basin Surveys—History. 7. Interagency Archeological Salvage Program (U.S.)—
History. 8. Dams—United States—Design and construction—History—20th
century. 9. Dams—Environmental aspects—United States—History—20th century. I.
Banks, Kimball M. II. Czaplicki, Jon S.
CC101.U6D36 2014
973—dc23
                                2013048333
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992.
Contents
List of Illustrations 7
Acknowledgments 10
1. Introduction: The Flood Control Act of 1944 and the 11
Growth of American Archaeology
Kimball M. Banks and Jon S. Czaplicki
Part I The National Park Service and the Smithsonian Institution
2. The National Park Service and the Smithsonian Institution: 25
Partners in Salvage Archaeology
Thomas D. Thiessen, Deborah Hull-Walski, and
Lynn M. Snyder
Part II The RBS and IASP Programs
3. The Lincoln Office and the Upper Missouri River Basin 41
W. Raymond Wood
4. Archaeological “Appraisals” of Twenty Stream Basins in 53
California: Investigations by the Smithsonian Institution’s
River Basin Surveys, 1947–1951
Michael J. Moratto and Francis A. Riddell
5. The River Basin Surveys in the Columbia Plateau 66
R. Lee Lyman
6. Archaeological Salvage at Texas Reservoir Construction 85
Projects: 1945–1969
Edward B. Jelks
7. Federal Archaeology in the Southeast 95
Richard A. Krause
8. Contributions of the Washington Office to the Archaeology 115
of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regions
Susan C. Prezzano
9. Upper Colorado River Archaeological Salvage Projects 129
Don D. Fowler
Part III The RBS and IASP Impacts on American Archaeology
10. Contributions to Physical Anthropology by the Smithsonian 141
Institution’s River Basin Surveys
Vanessa A. Mirro
11. Missouri Basin Projects and the Emergence of Historical 151
Archaeology on the Great Plains
William B. Lees
12. Paleontological Significance of the Missouri River 167
Basin Surveys
John W. Hoganson
13. Women in Reservoir Salvage Archaeology 180
Ruthann Knudson
14. The Missouri River: The Backbone to Survival 202
Gerard Baker—Yellow Wolf
15. Flapping Tents, Outhouses, Hail Storms, and Running 214
for Water: An Insider’s View of the Life in Interagency
Archeological Salvage Program Field Camps, 1950s–1970s
David Mayer Gradwohl
16. From RBS to CRM: Late Twentieth-Century Developments 228
in American Archaeology
Francis P. McManamon
References 253
Index 295
About the Authors 313
Illustrations
Figures
Figure 1.1 RBS field crew off to work 14
Figure 1.2 An RBS camp 14
Figure 1.3 The Missouri Basin Project office in Lincoln, Nebraska 15
Figure 1.4 The distribution of RBS project offices 16
Figure 1.5 One of two books for the general public on salvage 17
archaeology
Figure 2.1 John M. Corbett and Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr. 29
Figure 2.2 Specimen processing desks 34
Figure 3.1 Dean Clark cataloging specimens at the MRBS field 42
office in Lincoln, Nebraska
Figure 3.2 The Sully Site (39SL4), the largest of the earthlodge 45
villages on the upper Missouri River
Figure 3.3 Field camp of Robert L. Stephenson at the Potts Site 47
(39CO19)
Figure 3.4 Supervisors and visitors at the excavation of 48
Fort Berthold I
Figure 3.5 Marvin F. Kivett’s excavation of Upper Republican 49
houses in the Medicine Creek Reservoir, 1948
Figure 5.1 Location of RBS projects undertaken through the 67
RBS Columbia Basin Project office in Eugene, Oregon
Figure 5.2 Location of hydroelectric dams and selected 69
archaeological sites and locations in the Columbia
Basin of eastern Washington state
Figure 5.3 Windust Cave C chronology of projectile point types 79
Figure 6.1 Map showing locations of reservoir projects in Texas 86
where surveys and/or excavations were carried out
Figure 6.2 RBS crew at Lavon Reservoir, 1950 87
Figure 6.3 Stepped excavations of deep stratified deposits at the 93
Devils Mouth Site, Amistad Reservoir, 1962
Figure 9.1 Colorado River, Major Dams, and Drainage Basin 130
Figure 9.2 Area of Glen Canyon Salvage Project, Upper 133
Colorado River
Figure 12.1 Location of Missouri River Basin reservoirs where 170
paleontological surveys were done from 1943
through 1953
Figure 12.2 Theodore White at camp during his Canyon Ferry 175
Reservoir, Montana paleontology survey
Figure 13.1 Mary Rusco from Gene Hattori 185
Figure 13.2 Ann Stofer Johnson, 1971 186
Figure 13.3 Leavenworth Site 1961: Astrida Blukis, Petra 189
Moore, Bruce Blinco, Valerie Wheeler, and
Richard Krause
Figure 13.4 Nettie Adams and Floyd Laughter cooking breakfast 199
Figure 13.5 Carol Condie Stout 200
Figure 14.1 Like-a-Fishhook Village 206
Figure 14.2 Shell Creek Map 207
Figure 14.3 George Gillette 210
Figure 15.1 Doing laundry at the Oacoma field camp, 1952 217
Figure 15.2 Writing up field notes in the tent, Big Sandy 220
Reservoir, Farson, Wyoming
Figure 15.3 NSHS field camp at the Crow Creek Site, 1955 221
Figure 15.4 Native American crew members at the Crow Creek 222
Site, 1955
Figure 15.5 NSHS crew members relaxing after bathing and 224
swimming in Lake Bedashosha
Figure 15.6 Women and men on ISU’s first archaeological field 226
crew, 1964
Tables
Table 4.1 River Basin Surveys projects in California (1947–1951) 57
Table 8.1 Selected projects of the River Basin Surveys in the 127
Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states directed from
the Washington office
Table 10.1 RBS cemetery sites yielding large skeletal samples 146
Table 11.1 Historic sites identified through historical research 160
within the Fort Randall Reservoir, South Dakota
Table 12.1 List of Missouri River Basin reservoirs where 171
paleontological surveys were done from 1943
through 1953
Table 16.1 Presentations, Authors, Commenters, and Discussants 234
1974 Denver CRM Conference
Table 16.2 The management of archeological resources: 237
The airlie house report