This research was made possible through a technology transfer grant from
the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, National
Park Service, awarded in 1997. The immediate challenge was to locate
a suitable prehistoric settlement, and the fortified villages of the
Middle Missouri River instantly came to mind. Craig Johnson (Minnesota
Department of Transportation), project consultant for prehistory, and
Fern Swenson (State Historical Society of North Dakota) located 6
candidate settlements distributed along a 500 km stretch of the river,
and limited areas of each were geophysically examined during the summer
of 1997. Owing to the excellent response of all methods (electrical
resistivity, electromagnetic conductivity, magnetic gradiometry)
at Whistling Elk, this site was selected for full study during the
summer of 1998.
This project was supported by a technology transfer grant from the National
Center for Preservation Technology and Training, National Park Service.
