Page 8
University Daily Kansan
Monday, May 17, 1965
Ancient Skeletons Rattle Under Bulldozers
Bv Bob Curtright
The highly unorthodox practice of excavating delicate archeological burial sites with caterpillar tractors was a recent innovation of William M. Bass, associate professor of anthrology.
Prof. Bass explained that he worked for the Smithsonian Institute River Basin Survey in South Dakota for four years, but did not discover heavy-machinery excavation until the last year.
For his efforts in pioneering this field of research, Bass was given a $40,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to continue his studies in South Dakota unearthing burial sites of Arikara Indians.
"The SITE OF the excavations is almost at the exact geographical center of South Dakota, near Pierre, the capital," Bass said. He explained that the urgency of the project was because the area will soon be under the waters of the Oahe Dam Reservoir, an immense project designed to
back up waters on the Missouri River to Bismarck..
"The site itself is called the Sully Site." Bass added. "It was named for the county it is in which in turn was named after General Sully, a famous character during the Indian wars."
Bass hit upon the idea of using caterpillar tractors equipped with scrapers to unearth relics when he considered the fact that most archeological finds of any importance are discovered by engineers working in the field on some construction project.
"The new system has saved us a great deal of money," he added. "During the first three years of digging, we used the primitive method of staking out the site into five-foot squares and then excavating them at intervals.
conventional system the cost would have been around $8,700.
"THE FOURTH year, we used the caterpillars," Prof. Bass said. "The machines only cost about $1,000." He estimated that if they had used the
Bass explained that by the old method, the workers would survey the five-foot squares across-country to find the extent of the burial grounds. He said this process was extremely cumbersome and slow.
"We could scoop off the dirt at 2-inch intervals with the cats," Bass said. He added that they could cut a swath nine feet wide and 130 feet long, thus saving a great amount of time. He explained that the Indian village was covered with a 15-inch layer of loess, or wind-blown soil
Efficiency was also a factor in the machines' favor, Bass said. He mentioned that 566 burials were uncovered during the entire four years with 246 of them being found during the last year.
"AND NO DAMAGE was done to the relics by the machines," Bass said. He explained how the crew discovered the skeletons with the machinery.
"When we were there the ground was wet from the heavy rains of one of their rainiest seasons on record." Bass said. He described how the wet dirt would cling to the scoop of the caterpillar and would expose any skeleton that was near the surface.
Bass also explained another way of locating burials.
"We would look for a dark ring in the soil at each layer," he said. This indicates a burial, he explained, for the Indians never were able to replace the dirt in the holes as nature had placed it.
The skeletons were found in sitting and lying positions often with their knees drawn up into their chests, Bass said. This indicates they were buried in the flesh, he added. The skeletons were found intact in most cases, also proving they were buried in the flesh.
"OUR PURPOSE was to recover the archeological material and study it to compare with other cultures," Bass explained.
He mentioned that 2500 skeletons from the Arikara burial site are now being studied at KU along with some of the artifacts discovered with the bodies.
"The Arikara Indians were a sedentary tribe in South Dakota," Bass explained. "By that I mean they were stationary as opposed to the nomadic tribes who had horses."
HE EXPLAINED that the Arikaras cultivated gardens raising corn, beans, and squash. For meat, they relied on two sources: the few buffalo they could kill and the carcasses of drowned animals that had fallen through the ice of the river.
Bass explained that the Indians often allowed the buffalo carcasses to decay to such a state that they could eat them with spoons.
"The Arikaras died out before white men ever settled in the region," Bass said. They lived somewhere between 1650 and 1750 in South Dakota.
Two Retire From Library After Years of Service
Almost 65 years of service to the university and to Watson Library will be concluded in June when two of the library personnel retire.
Around 40 of these years were served by Miss Lauro Neiswanger, at present curator of the Kansan Collections, and the remaining 25 by Mrs. Alta Lonnecker, who has served as secretary to the past three directors of the library.
MISS NEISWANGER graduated from KU in 1922 and immediately started to work for the library, which then occupied the building now occupied by the University of Kansas Art Museum.
Most of Miss Neiswanger's activity in the library has been in the Cataloging department. She became curator of the Kansas Collection in 1955.
She has been employed by the KU library for all but four years of that time. During that period she worked in the Detroit public libraries.
"IT HAS BEEN WONDERFUL working here at the library," Miss Neiswanger said, "I have never been bored, partly because of my association with the students.
"They have certainly helped me more than I have helped them," she said.
Miss Neiswanger was not a person to "blow her own horn." Miss Alexandra Mason, head of special collections, said. She lived within her collection and many people in the library never knew her, but she was great.
THERE WERE VERY FEW days that her work stopped at 5 o'clock.
Official Bulletin
Foreign Students: Beware! Unscrupulous magazine salesmen are afoot. DO NOT sign any statements whatsoever if approached about a purchase. Ask the salesman (or woman) to check with the Office of Dean of Students.
TODAY
Graduate Physics Colloquium, 4:30 p.m.
Dr. Gilbert Mendon, NASA, 155 Malott
Lecture, 7:30 p.m. Dr. Marshall Standing, Society of Petroleum Engineers Distinguished Professor for 64-65. "Spatial variation of reservoir fluid properties." Sunflower Room, Kansas Union. Everyone welcome.
Student Peace Union Open Meeting, 7:30 a.m. Kansas, Union.
Senior Recital. 8 p.m. Compositions by Michael Mitacek, Swarthout Recital Hall.
Catholic Mass, 6:45 a.m. and 5 p.m. St. Lukas Chapel. Confessions before or during mass.
TOMORROW
**Ph.D. Exam:** Ellen Ordway, candidate for a PhD in field of Entomology 2:30 or 2:40 Snow.
6th Annual Personnel Officers Seminar. All.Day. Kansas Union.
A. Ph.A. Film Series, 12:30 p.m. 324 Melotis
p
Western Civilization Review, 7:15-9:30
www.Freser Theater
Inquirers Class, 7:30 p.m. Caterbury House, 1116 La
Christian Science College Organization,
7:30 p.m. Danforth Chapel
Miss Mason stated. She was always taking work home to do.
art, pianist. Swarthabout recital run.
Experiment theatre, 8:00 p.m. "The Piano
Concerto."
Graduate Recital, 8 p.m. Carol Stewart, pianist. Swartwhatch Recital Hall.
Wesley Foundation Community Worship 9:15 p.m. Methodist Center, 1314
"Miss Neiswanger's retirement will deprive the state of its 'folk memory,'" Stuart Forth, acting director of the library, said. "The breadth and depth of her knowledge of the people and things that create local history will be almost impossible to replace
Episcopal Holy Communion, 9:30 p.m.
Danforth Chapel.
"Her knowledge has been helpful for years to the greenest of freshmen and the most sophisticated of chancellors." Forth continued. "She delighted in helping anyone with an interest in Kansas history."
MRS. ALTA LONNECKER will retire at the end of 25 years of service. Of these 25 years, 23 have been at the library, and the other
two at the Kansas Union during the early part of the war. There she handled the ration stamps.
Her most memorable event at the library has been the great expansion that has come about since she joined the staff. There has been two additions to the physical plant, one in 1947 and the other just completed
In her duties as secretary she has been general assistant to directors, in charge of payrolls, and purchaser of all office supplies.
ALSO THE STAFF, both regular and part time, has tripled in those 25 years.
"I think the library has kept abreast the student explosion and campus expansion on the hill," Mrs. Lonnecker said.
Zephyr-weight oxford that keeps its aplomb (and yours) on hot, humid days. In long or half sleeves. $6.50
Oxford Voile
ON THE HILI
The TOWN CRIER
Features
Supplementary Textbook
Reading Material
Paperback Books, Magazines, Newspapers
Greeting Cards, Gifts
Hours: 8:30 a.m.-10:00 p.m.
DAY Y-Including Sunday 9*
912 Mass.
Graduation Gifts
Here are just a few of the many Gift Ideas
we have for your selection.
Domestic and Imported Brassware
Imported Fine Glassware
Beautiful Feather Flowers
Imported Floral Arrangements
Swiss and German Music Boxes
Statuary Reproductions by Austin
Fine Crystal from Germany
Hummel Figurines from Germany
Your Gift Boxed and Wrapped
V1 2-1523 Malls Shopping Center Plenty of Free Parking