The River Basin Surveys Collections: A Legacy for American Archeology

Abstract

The Smithsonian Institution s River Basin Surveys (RES), hailed as Hanevent of transcendent importance" to American archeology, was a major part of the Interagency Archeological Salvage Program from its inception in 1945 to the end of the RES in 1969. The RES was a highly organized program in terms of both its field and laboratory operations, and it left an invaluable legacy of systematically-generated collections and records resulting from the extensive research of its staff. These materials continue to have research value more than 35 years after the program ended. Following the end of the RES, some of its collections and records became dispersed and neglected With a focus on the RBS program within the Missouri River basin, this paper discusses locations where RES collections and records presently reside, points out advantages and problems with their management since the RES program was terminated, and reviews National Park Service efforts to complete analysis and reporting of collections that were unanalyzed when the RES was ended.