A Magnetometer Survey of the Knife River Indian Villages

There are several Indian village sites at the confluence of the Knife and Missouri rivers near the town of Stanton, North Dakota. Two of them were examined or tested by D. J. Lehmer in 1965. Four of the sites are now being incorporated into the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site. As part of the development of this Historic Site a proton magnetometer survey was carried out in 1976 on parts of Sakakawea Village and the Buchfink Site. In addition, a survey was conducted on part of the Amahami Village in Stanton. This article discusses the theory of magnetic surveying, the varying nature of the regions surveyed, and the extensive results abtained. These results include the identification of at least 12 earth lodge sites with associated features, the correlation of some features in the magnetic data with soil probe information, and a number of suggestive but unidentifed features on which the magnetic measurements focus.