National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Midwest Archeological Center 

Lincoln, Nebraska

ARCHEOLOGICAL INVENTORY AT MULTIPLE 

LOCALITIES, BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK, 

SOUTH DAKOTA

By

Erin C. Dempsey

Archeological Report 7

ARCHEOLOGICAL INVENTORY AT MULTIPLE 

LOCALITIES, BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK, 

SOUTH DAKOTA

BY

ERIN C. DEMPSEY

Archeological Report 7 

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Midwest Archeological Center

United States Department of the Interior

National Park Service

Midwest Archeological Center

Lincoln, Nebraska

2015
This report has been reviewed against the criteria contained in 43CFR Part 7, Subpart 

A, Section 7.18 (a) (1) and, upon recommendation of the Midwest Regional Office

and the Midwest Archeological Center, has been classified as

AVAILABLE

Making the report available meets the criteria of 43CFR Part 7, Subpart A, Section 7.18 

(a) (1).
i

ABSTRACT

Midwest Archeological Center (MWAC) personnel completed archeological 

inventories at a number of project localities in the north and south units at Badlands 

National Park (BADL), South Dakota, in July 2012. The majority of work was related to 

Maintenance activities and included shovel test and/or pedestrian inventories in advance 

of fenceline installation or replacement at three housing units and the bison corral, trail 

improvements at Pinnacles Overlook and the Notch Trail, sand shed construction at the 

Maintenance facility, and housing unit construction at the White River Visitor Center in 

the South Unit. Several site condition assessments were also completed. Miscellaneous 

projects involved removing material from a small hearth discovered eroding out of a 

social trail at Ancient Hunters Overlook and a site visit to Johnny Spring, which the park 

considered developing for bison use. In addition, a pedestrian inventory was conducted 

across the Kelly parcel, a tract of land that currently belongs to the U.S. Forest Service, 

but will be traded with a private landowner who currently grazes cattle there in exchange 

for his inholding within BADL.
ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This project would not have been possible without the invaluable support of 

BADL staff, including Superintendent Eric Brunneman, Museum Technician Megan 

Cherry, Supervisory Ranger Aaron Kaye, and Facility Management Systems Specialist 

Ken Thompson. The efforts of tribal liaison Mike Catches Enemy and Nebraska 

National Grasslands and Forests Archeologist Kristina Hill were also much appreciated. 

The hardworking field crew consisted of Laura Bender and Allison Young. Finally, 

thank you to Vergil Noble, Jeff Larson, and Allan Weber for their efforts to produce 

this report.
iii

TABLE OF CONTACTS 

Abstract.........................................................................................................................................i

Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... ii

List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... v

List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. v

Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1

Environmental Setting ............................................................................................................... 1

Cultural Context ......................................................................................................................... 1

Field Methods ............................................................................................................................. 2

Curation ....................................................................................................................................... 2

Results .......................................................................................................................................... 3

North Unit ................................................................................................................. 3

Sand Shed .......................................................................................................... 3

Bison Corral ...................................................................................................... 3

Quarters 28, 29, and 60 Fencing ..................................................................... 4

Pinnacles Overlook Social Trails .................................................................... 4

Johnny Spring ................................................................................................... 4

Notch Trail ........................................................................................................ 5

39PN9 (Ancient Hunters) ............................................................................... 5

Site Condition Assessments ............................................................................ 5

Kelly Parcel ........................................................................................................ 5
iv

South Unit .................................................................................................................. 6

Quarters 252 (White River Development Area) ........................................... 6

Summary and Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 6

References Cited ......................................................................................................................... 7
v

TABLES

Table 1. Summary of site condition assessments completed during

July 2012 ...................................................................................................................................... 9

FIGURES

Figure 1. Overview of the shovel test area where the Maintenance 

sand shed is slated for construction........................................................................................ 11

Figure 2. Aerial map showing shovel test locations at the sand shed 

project area................................................................................................................................. 11

Figure 3. Overview of new wing fence area, west of the bison corral ................................ 12

Figure 4. End of the existing wing fence showing bison- and vehiclerelated disturbance.................................................................................................................... 13

Figure 5. Aerial map showing shovel test locations, animal trails, and 

two-track road at the wing fence extension area .................................................................. 14

Figure 6. Artifacts collected from surface at 39PN3476....................................................... 15

Figure 7. Overview of site 39PN3476 and wing fence.......................................................... 16

Figure 8. Overview of the bison corral fence extension area............................................... 16

Figure 9. Aerial map showing shovel test locations at the bison corral 

fence extension area.................................................................................................................. 17

Figure 10. Overview of the boundary fence shovel test area within the 

bison corral. ............................................................................................................................... 17

Figure 11. Aerial map showing the boundary fence shovel test area at 

the bison corral.......................................................................................................................... 18

Figure 12. Overview of shovel test area in advance of privacy fence 

installation at Quarters 28 ........................................................................................................ 18

Figure 13. Overview of the shovel test area at Quarters 29.................................................. 19

Figure 14. Aerial view of shovel test locations at quarters 28 and 29 ................................. 19

Figure 15. Overview of shovel test area at Quarters 60 (Pinnacles 

Ranger Station).......................................................................................................................... 20
vi

Figure 16. Aerial view of the shovel test locations at Quarters 60....................................... 20

Figure 17. Overview of shovel test locations at Pinnacles Overlook.................................. 21

Figure 18. Overview of the easternmost social trail and associated erosion 

at Pinnacles Overlook. ............................................................................................................. 21

Figure 19. Overview of western most social trail at Pinnacles Overlook........................... 22

Figure 20. Hearth eroding out of a social trail at the Ancient 

Hunters site (39PN9)................................................................................................................ 22

Figure 21. Aerial view of the Kelly Parcel............................................................................... 23

Figure 22. Allison Young collects GPS coordinates at a cistern .......................................... 23

Figure 23. Overview of the area where Quarters 252 will be constructed......................... 24

Figure 24. Aerial view of the shovel test grid at Quarters 252.............................................. 24
1

ARCHEOLOGICAL INVENTORY AT MULTIPLE LOCALITIES, 

BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH DAKOTA

Introduction

The Midwest Archeological Center (MWAC) conducted archeological 

investigations at Badlands National Park (BADL) in July 2012. The primary goal was to 

complete pedestrian and/or shovel-test inventory at multiple locations across the North 

Unit and in the area of the White River Visitor Center in the South Unit as part of the 

Park’s Section 106 compliance efforts. In addition, we conducted a pedestrian inventory 

of a 640-acre parcel of U.S. Forest Service (USFS) land. This land will be traded to a 

private landowner (Mr. Kelly) in exchange for the inholding of land Mr. Kelly currently 

retains within BADL’s legislative boundary. 

The MWAC field crew included Archeologist Erin Dempsey and archeological 

technicians Laura Bender and Allison Young. We were assisted by a number of BADL 

staff. Museum Technician Megan Cherry and Supervisory Park Ranger Aaron Kaye 

coordinated our work in the Park. Invaluable assistance and guidance was provided 

by Superintendent Eric Brunnemann, Facility Management Systems Specialist Ken 

Thompson, and members of the Resource Management Team, including Wildlife 

Biologist Eddie Childers and Resource Management Specialist Brian Kenner. Oglala 

Sioux Tribal Liaison Mike Catches Enemy monitored our work in the South Unit. We 

coordinated with Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands Archeologist Kristina Hill 

to survey the Kelly land exchange parcel.

Environmental Setting

BADL preserves a portion of the highly dissected White River Badlands, which 

are situated in the Pierre Hills and Tertiary Table Lands divisions of the Unglaciated 

Missouri Plateau, Great Plains physiographic province (Fenneman 1931). Ward (1922) 

identified four surfaces in the topographic sequence: the Upper Prairie surface, the 

Badlands Wall, the Lower Prairie surface, and the modern White River floodplain. The 

White River Badlands are highly dissected and the formations erode at a rate of 1 inch 

per year. Permanent and intermittent springs, streams, and seeps exist throughout the 

Park. During the Historic period, a number of these features were dammed to form feed 

ponds. Springs occur mostly on the Upper Prairie surface. 

Dominant vegetation types include mixed grass species, sage, prickly pear 

cactus, and narrow leaf yucca. Hardwood trees may be found in draws, and groves of 

Rocky Mountain juniper exist in well-watered portions of the Badlands Wall (Churchill 

1981; Kuehn 2003). The modern climate is continental with strong seasonality. Average 

rainfall measures 15.52 inches, the majority of which falls between April and September. 

Cultural Context

People have lived in the western plains of South Dakota for approximately 12,000 

years. Paleoindians (12,000-6,000 years BP) occupied the area during the late Pleistocene 

and early Holocene, practicing a subsistence and adaptive strategy of big-game hunting. 
2

BADL

The most diagnostic artifacts from this period are fluted projectile points, which were 

often knapped from exotic raw material. In BADL, evidence for these early inhabitants 

is ephemeral; only isolated Paleoindian artifacts have been found within the Park 

boundaries (Falk et al. 1978; Jones 1993). The Lange-Ferguson site, an intact Clovisage mammoth kill site is located south of the Park’s South Unit (White and Hannus 

1985; Hannus 1990). The Plains Archaic (6,000-2,250 years BP) period is marked by a 

transition to smaller points made of locally sourced material. Compared to other regions 

of the Great Plains, Plains Archaic and Plains Woodland (2,250-1,100 years BP) cultural 

occupations in the Park are also poorly represented in BADL (Jones 2002). Plains Village 

tradition (1,100-200 years BP) archeological sites are well documented through what 

appear to be short-term camp or multi-use sites (Jones 2002).

Field Methods

Field methods included both pedestrian survey and shovel-test inventories, 

depending upon the individual requirements of the project component. 

Pedestrian surveys were completed at two localities: the Kelly Parcel and Notch 

Trail. At the Kelly Parcel, half of the project area was surveyed at 15-m intervals and half 

at 30-m intervals. Though surface visibility varied between 0 and 40% at this locality, 

the USFS did not request a shovel test inventory in addition to the pedestrian inventory. 

Notch Trail runs over highly eroded Badlands formations and winds along a steep 

drop off. The trail was too narrow to survey at traditional intervals. Instead, the crew 

spread out as much as the terrain allowed and did their best to scan the area between the 

formation slope and the drop off.

Shovel testing was used as an inventory technique at the majority of localities 

investigated during the project. Shovel tests had a diameter of 30 cm and were excavated 

to a depth of at least 40 cm below surface, depending on the soil. Sediments were 

screened through 1⁄4-in hardware cloth. Generally, shovel tests were excavated on a 

10-m grid. Full grids were not excavated at each locality. In some cases, intervals were 

expanded to as much as 20 m if artifacts were not being encountered. Shovel tests were 

numbered sequentially, either overall or by transect.

Curation

The project archives are curated at MWAC under accession MWAC- 1503, BADL671. Archives include shovel test forms, site forms, site condition assessments, photo 

logs, photographs (both black-and-white film and digital), field notes, the work plan, 

and other project correspondence. Photos and locations of materials found at the Kelly 

Parcel were provided directly to the USFS, though the originals will be permanently 

curated at MWAC under an agreement with the USFS. Information from site condition 

assessments has been entered into the Archeological Sites Information Management 

System (ASMIS) and the completed forms added to the site files.
3

Results

The results of work at each locality are summarized below. Site management 

recommendations are made where appropriate.

North Unit

Sand Shed

The Park proposes to build a sand shed immediately south of the Maintenance 

buildings, near the Badlands formations that separate the complex from the Bone 

Yard. Historic photographs depict mounds of gravel and heavy machinery in the 

project area. We excavated nine shovel tests in a roughly 30-m-x-20-m grid (Figure 1 

and 2). No artifacts were recovered during the inventory. All shovel tests encountered 

bedrock at approximately 30-40 cm below surface. No additional archeological work is 

recommended in the sand shed area.

Bison Corral

Several projects are proposed at the bison corral. One of these projects, the 

rehabilitation and replacement of the holding pen fences, was deemed too large to 

complete during our visit. Instead, we focused our efforts on the wing fence extensions. 

At the westernmost fence extension, we excavated nine shovel tests in a rough 

10-m-x-1-m grid (Figures 3, 4, and 5). No excavations took place on the slope into the 

drainage formed by the CCC dam. At the top of the slope, soil stratigraphy is brown/gray 

silty clay loam over stratified orange and maroon clay mixed with limestone. At the base 

of the slope, stratigraphy consists of unsorted colluvium. One possible lithic artifact was 

recovered from a shovel test. No archeological resources will be adversely impacted by 

wing fence construction, and further archeological work at this locality is not necessary.

On our way back to the vehicle, we observed several artifacts on the surface 

approximately 50 m east of the fence extension including one core, two flakes, and one 

tested cobble (Figures 6 and 7). This site was designated 2012-1 in the field and later 

given South Dakota site number 39PN3476. We took GPS coordinates of each artifact 

and collected them. The core and one flake were exposed in a two-track road. The site’s 

extent is unknown at this time. Because the site is unevaluated and its eligibility for 

inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places is unknown, when the wing fence 

is constructed I recommend that care be taken to drive heavy machinery and vehicles 

around the landform on which the site is situated. 

During work at the fence extension immediately west of the main bison corral, 

we excavated 19 shovel tests at 10-m intervals along the fence’s proposed route (Figure 

8 and 9). Nine of the shovel tests were positive for cultural material. Artifacts (chipped 

stone debitage) were encountered as deep as 20 cm below surface. As long as the fence 

follows the proposed path, it will not adversely affect archeological resources. However, 
4

BADL

given the subsurface position of some artifacts, an archeological site evaluation is 

recommended in the future.

A section of boundary fence at the bison corral is slated for replacement in FY 12. 

The posts will be positioned at different intervals than they currently stand, and a shovel 

test inventory was recommended in the absence of ground visibility. We excavated 38 

shovel tests along the fence beginning at 10-m intervals and switching to 15- and 20-m 

intervals (Figures 10 and 11). No artifacts were recovered and no archeological resources 

will be adversely impacted by fence replacement. No further archeological work is 

recommended at this locality.

Quarters 28, 29, and 60 Fencing

The yards at three housing units are slated for fence installation. We completed 

shovel test inventories along the proposed fence route at each house. Three shovel tests 

were excavated at both quarters 28 (Figure 12) and 29 (Figure 13) in the Cedar Pass 

housing area, all negative for cultural material (Figure 14). At Quarters 60, we excavated 

seven shovel tests (Figure 15), which again did not yield cultural material (Figure 16). 

Soils at all three housing units are disturbed (compacted and clayey). No archeological 

resources will be negatively impacted by fence installation at these localities and no 

additional archeological work is recommended.

Pinnacles Overlook Social Trails

The Park proposes to harden two social trails at Pinnacles Overlook. First, we 

completed a pedestrian survey across the landform and determined that visibility was 

very poor. Second, we completed shovel-test inventories along each trail (Figure 17). At 

the easternmost trail, we excavated two shovel tests along the social trail (Figure 18). At 

the westernmost trail, we excavated 16 shovel tests along the trail (Figure 19). No artifacts 

were recovered during these excavations. Overall, soils are compact and gravelly. Two 

shovel tests along the west trail appear to have natural mollic soil profiles. Given the 

history of disturbance at Pinnacles Overlook, the potential for archeological resources 

is low and the proposed trail work will not adversely impact any such resources. No 

additional archeological work is recommended at Pinnacles Overlook.

Johnny Spring

Johnny Spring is one of the few perennial springs in the western part of the North 

Unit and may be developed in order to keep the bison herd watered. Lithic artifacts 

have been observed on the surface above the spring. Park staff asked us to determine 

if a shovel test inventory is feasible in and around the spring. Upon our site visit, we 

found the spring bowl to be steep, narrow, and boggy at the bottom. Bison trampling 

is apparent and hoof prints sink as deep as 30 cm below surface. The area above the 

spring should be shovel tested as visibility is roughly 20%. I recommend that Park staff 

develop a more detailed plan of action for work at the spring, including a route for heavy 

machinery. Once this plan is in place, a shovel-test method may be devised that better 

serves the Park’s needs.
5

Notch Trail

To make Search and Rescue operations along the Notch Trail easier and safer for 

emergency responders, the Park proposes to flatten certain sections of the trail at points 

beyond the wooden ladder (closer to the Notch). We conducted a pedestrian survey 

along the trail, which runs on bedrock between the ladder and the Notch. No artifacts 

were observed on the surface and the potential for archeological resources to exist 

along this portion of the trail is extremely low. No further archeological work along this 

portion of the North Trail is needed.

39PN9 (Ancient Hunters)

During a site condition assessment at 39PN9, we discovered a small hearth feature 

with faunal remains, charcoal, and debitage eroding out of a social trail leading up to the 

plateau on the south side of the road (Figure 20). The feature was at approximately 0.5 m 

below surface before slumping occurred off the edge of the plateau. We photographed 

and took GPS coordinates of the feature. After consulting with Supervisory Archeologist 

Jeff Richner, we decided to collect charcoal and faunal samples from the feature. 

As we collected the samples, it was clear the feature was ephemeral and had mostly 

eroded away. No additional archeological work is needed at the hearth location. It is 

my recommendation that one trail at the Ancient Hunters Overlook be hardened. New 

waysides might better describe the site and encourage visitors to protect and preserve 

the Park’s archeological resources by staying on the trail. The social trail should then be 

revegetated.

Site Condition Assessments

We completed 22 site condition assessments in the North Unit. Table 1 indicates 

the site number, site name (if applicable), site type, and the site’s current condition. Eight 

of the 22 sites visited are in fair condition. This is mostly the result of erosion and bison 

and/or prairie dog activity.

Kelly Parcel

As part of a land exchange between the USFS, Mr. Kelly, and the Park, we agreed 

to survey a 640-acre parcel of USFS land that is situated approximately one mile north 

and west of the Pinnacles Entrance Station (Figure 21). We conducted pedestrian 

survey transects at 15-m intervals in the east half of the project area, switching to 30-m 

intervals in the west half of the project area on the advice of USFS Archeologist Hill. 

We recorded one historic dump near the center of the parcel as site 39PN3505, which 

included fragments of glass and ferrous metal. A single isolated fragment of metal was 

found on the parcel’s northern boundary. One historic homestead was recorded as site 

39PN3504 approximately 300m west of the parcel’s western boundary (Figure 22). As 

mentioned above, the GPS coordinates and photographs from these localities will be 

given directly to the USFS. Hill indicated that subsurface archeological work is not 

necessary at the parcel.
6

South Unit

Quarters 252 (White River Development Area)

Site 39SH16 was previously recorded through pedestrian inventory in the area 

of the White River Visitor Center (Falk et al. 1977). An additional pedestrian inventory 

was conducted by Messerli et al. (2003). Though utilities run in 12-ft-wide disturbance 

corridors across the area where Quarters 252 will be built, in order to understand 

39SH16’s extent better, a shovel-test inventory was recommended. We completed a 

50-m-x-50-m shovel-test grid in the area between the existing housing unit (Quarters 

200) and the leachfield (North/South) and the fence line and old driveway/garage (East/

West). Thirty-one shovel tests were excavated in the project area (Figures 23 and 24), 

and disturbed soil profiles were encountered in all. The southernmost transect of shovel 

tests contained gravel. No artifacts or features were recovered from the excavations and 

no archeological resources will be adversely impacted by the construction of Quarters 

252. Based upon our work and a discussion with Utility Systems Repair Operator 

Russ Logan, it is apparent that utility work has disturbed much of the White River 

Development Area. Logan indicated that the picnic area to the west of the Visitor Center 

is relatively undisturbed. Additional archeological work should be completed in and 

around the picnic area to complete the assessment of impacts to 39SH16 and determine 

what portion, if any, of the site remains intact.

Summary and Conclusions

During the 2012 field season at BADL, several archeological inventories were 

successfully completed. Only a few of the project localities yielded cultural material and 

in many cases, soil profiles were not intact. In most cases, no further archeological work 

is necessary at the localities discussed in this report, however some would benefit from 

additional research. Those recommendations are included in the above summaries. 

BADL preserves a unique archeological and environmental landscape. While 

much is known about the cultural and physical histories in the greater BADL area, 

continued inventory and research at the Park will help us better understand the specifics 

of human-landscape interaction in the Badlands proper during the late Pleistocene and 

throughout the Holocene. 
7

REFERENCES CITED

Churchill, Robert R.

1981 Aspect-Related Differences in Badlands Slope Morphology. Annals of the 

Association of American Geographers 71(3):374-388.

Falk, Carl R., Steve Holen, and Robert Pepperl

1977 A Preliminary Assessment of Archeological Resources in the Vicinity of the 

Proposed White River Development Badlands National Monument, South Dakota. 

Manuscript on file, National Park Service, Midwest Archeological Center, 

Lincoln, Nebraska.

Fenneman, Nevin

 1931 Physiography of the Western United States. McGraw-Hill, New York.

Jones, Bruce A.

1993 1991 Archeological Inventory and Evaluation Along Loop Road Segment 10-2, 

Badlands National Park, South Dakota. Manuscript on file, National Park Service, 

Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln, Nebraska.

2002 Archeological Investigations on the Cedar Pass Slide, Badlands National Park. 

Manuscript on file, National Park Service, Midwest Archeological Center, 

Lincoln, Nebraska. 

Kuehn, David D.

2003 Preliminary Geoarcheological Reconnaissance in Badlands National Park, South 

Dakota. Midwest Archeological Center Technical Report No. 88. Report on file, 

National Park Service, Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Messerli, Thomas F., Tammy K. Davis, and James A. Donohue

2003 A Class I and Class III Intensive Cultural Resources Survey of the Proposed Housing 

Project at the South Unit Ranger Station and Visitor Center, Badlands National Park, 

Shannon County, South Dakota. State Archaeological Research Center, South 

Dakota, Contract Investigation Series No. 1636. Manuscript on file, National Park 

Service, Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Ward, Freeman

1922 The Geology of a Portion of the Badlands. South Dakota Geology and Natural History 

Survey Bulletin 11. 
8

BADL
9

TABLES

Table 1. Summary of site condition assessments completed during July 2012.

Site Number Site Name Site Type Condition

39PN9 artifact scatter fair

39PN337 quarry good

39PN336 quarry good

39PN335 quarry good

39PN334 quarry good

39PN333 lithic workshop good

39PN332 lithic scatter good

39PN331 lithic workshop good

39PN330 artifact scatter good

39PN329 lithic scatter good

39PN22 lithic, ceramic scatter; hearth fair

39PN21 Hocking lithic scatter fair

39PN1929 lithic scatter good

39PN1911 lithic scatter fair

39PN1905 lithic scatter good

39PN1904 lithic scatter fair

39PN1544 Buffalo Spring lithic, artifact scatter good

39PN1174 BADL-91-05 artifact scatter good

39PN1135 Grand Hotel artifact scatter fair

39JK4 Johnnie artifact scatter fair

39JK37 historic structure good

39JK205 Cliff Shelf lithic scatter; hearth fair
10

BADL
11

FIGURES

Figure 1. Overview of the shovel test area where the Maintenance sand shed is slated for 

construction. Allison Young and Laura Bender excavated shovel test N30 E20. View west. 

Figure 2. Aerial map showing shovel test locations at the sand shed project area. 
12

BADL

Figure 3. Overview of new wing fence area, west of the bison corral. The wing fence extension will 

cross over the drainage in the background. Laura Bender and Allison Young excavate at shovel test 

N20 E30. The screen at right is at shovel test N30 E20. View west northwest.
13

Figure 4. End of the existing wing fence showing bison- and 

vehicle-related disturbance. View east.
14

BADL

Figure 5. Aerial map showing shovel test locations, animal trails, and two-track road at the wing 

fence extension area. The existing wing fence ends immediately east of shovel test N20 E10.
15

Figure 6. Artifacts collected from surface at 39PN3476.
16

BADL

Figure 7. Overview of site 39PN3476 and wing fence. Allison Young and Erin Dempsey record artifacts 

while standing on the two-track road on the left side of the frame. View northeast.

Figure 8. Overview of the bison corral fence extension area. View northeast.
17

Figure 9. Aerial map showing shovel test locations at the bison corral fence extension area.

Figure 10. Overview of the boundary fence shovel test area within the bison corral. Allison Young 

and Laura Bender excavate shovel test 10. View northeast.
18

BADL

Figure 11. Aerial map showing the boundary fence shovel test area at the bison corral. Shovel tests 

were numbered sequentially, 1-38, from west to east. 

Figure 12. Overview of shovel test area in advance of privacy fence installation at Quarters 28. Erin 

Dempsey and Laura Bender excavate shovel test 1.
19

Figure 13. Overview of the shovel test area at Quarters 29. Laura Bender and Allison Young excavate 

shovel test 1 in advance of fence installation. 

Figure 14. Aerial view of shovel test locations at quarters 28 and 29.
20

BADL

Figure 15. Overview of shovel test area at Quarters 60 (Pinnacles Ranger Station). Erin Dempsey and 

Laura Bender excavate shovel test 3.

Figure 16. Aerial view of the shovel test locations at Quarters 60. Shovel test 7 was not excavated 

because of proximity to the water line.
21

Figure 17. Overview of shovel test locations at Pinnacles Overlook. 

Figure 18. Overview of the easternmost social trail and associated erosion at Pinnacles Overlook. 
22

BADL

Figure 19. Overview of western most social trail at Pinnacles Overlook. Allison Young and Laura 

Bender excavate a shovel test in the left part of the frame. The trail turns west at the overlook 

(where people are standing in the left part of the frame) and runs along the edge of the formation 

toward the center part of the frame.

Figure 20. Hearth eroding out of a social trail at the Ancient Hunters site (39PN9). The hearth yielded 

charcoal, bone, and debitage.
23

Figure 21. Aerial view of the Kelly Parcel. The features associated with the homestead were located to 

the west of the parcel, as indicated by the black rectangle.

Figure 22. Allison Young collects GPS coordinates at a cistern. The cistern and porch steps to the right 

are part of a Historic homestead recorded on the Kelly parcel. View south.
24

BADL

Figure 23. Overview of the area where Quarters 252 will be constructed. Allison Young (left) and 

Laura Bender excavate shovel test F4. View north, photo taken from road that leads to existing 

housing unit (near shovel test F1 as seen in Figure 24).

Figure 24. Aerial view of the shovel test grid at Quarters 252. Shovel test A1 was not excavated due to 

proximity to a power pole and electrical line.