The Truman Mound Site, Big Bend Reservoir Area, South Dakota

Abstract

AbstractSix dome-shaped, late Woodland burial mounds were excavated at this site (39BF224). Primary and secondary interments were found; either or both types may be present in a single mound. Primary burials were flexed and always found in deep pits. Each pit contained a single individual and burial offerings. Secondary interments of one or more individuals on the mound floor are represented by scattered masses of bone and also by a compact bundle burial.Pottery from the mounds was of a single, undecorated type, described here as Truman Plain Rim. Vessels are conoidal, tan to dark brown, and tempered with quartz particles. The most distinctive characteristic of this pottery is the simple-stamped impressions extending horizontally around the vessel exteriors. Stone artifacts consist of triangular projectile points with corner notches and a straight base or side notches and a concave base, planoconvex scrapers, knife fragments, grinding stones, and retouched flakes. Bone artifacts include tubular and barrel-shaped beads and a splinter awl. Artifacts of fresh-water and marine shell recovered are a pendant, spoons, rings, disc beads, and a tubular bead. Additional artifacts, found in a stratum below the mounds, represent an earlier, non-ceramic occupation.In the concluding sections, a history of mound excavations in the central and northern Great Plains is given, and the relationships between the Truman Mounds and material from other Woodland sites in Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota are discussed.