94a. Archeological Investigations at Jewel Cave National
Monument Custer County, South Dakota 2000-2003 Bruce A. Jones
Midwest Archeological Center personnel undertook limited
evaluative test excavations at nine recorded historic and
prehistoric sites in Jewel Cave National Monument as part of a
three-year field project conducted in 2000-2002, followed by a
written synthesis that was begun in 2003. The sites which were
examined in the Monument included nine with prehistoric
components, and three with evidence of both prehistoric and
historic occupations. The nine prehistoric sites included five
that lay in springside settings, one that lay atop a high ridge
overlooking a canyon, one rock shelter, and two sites on a
canyon floor. None of the prehistoric sites in the Monument
produced large quantities of cultural material. Instead, they
reflect repeated short-term occupation and use of specific
settings that ensured success in food and other resource
exploitation, and appear to reflect part of a long-lived seas