A Review of the River Basin Surveys, Smithsonian Institution Museum of Natural History for the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee

Summary

This report was prepared for the "Ad Hoc Advisory Committee" that reviewed the River Basin Surveys program of the Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution in 1968. The report includes background information about the program and suggests additional activities that the program might undertake in the future. The River Basin Surveys was organized within the Smithsonian Institution in the fall of 1945 as a unit of the Bureau of American Ethnology. Its purpose was to carry out archeological investigations in areas to be flooded by the construction of reservoirs by the Federal Government.

The River Basin Surveys program performed investigations, including field work, analysis, and publication of results, to rescue or salvage archaeological sites and data that would otherwise have been destroyed by the construction of public reservoirs. The program was administered as part of the archaeological work done by the Smithsonian Institution in close coordination with the National Park Service. Over the years the program developed procedures for operations. However, beyond the rescue or salvage of archaeological data, more general goals were not described explicitly.

During the early years of the program, the River Basin Surveys pursued a literal interpretation of its mission, i. e., excavation of endangered sites within reservoirs (ideally to achieve a sample of 10%). This, of course, was proper in the context of program uncertainty and the limited objectives that prevailed at the time. Cultural complexes in the Columbia and Middle Missouri areas were so little known that the excavation of any archeological site might be justified. In its later years the River Basin Surveys attempted to orient its work so as to illuminate a number of major research problems identified in Middle Missouri archeology. It did not always succeed in this objective because the organization was tied to construction schedules in reservoir areas and had to react rather than initiate new research studies. As the status of the program changed within the Smithsonian, this report was part of an effort to review possible changes for the program. Information in this report, assembled and written by program staff, describes the program, appraises its capabilities and suggests alternatives for the future.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Archeological Progress Reports   •
• Midwest Archeological Center Publications

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Repository(s): Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln, Nebraska

Prepared By(s): River Basin Surveys Program, Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

Submitted To(s): Ad Hoc Advisory Committee

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