Fort Randall Reservoir Archeology, Geology, History

Our knowledge of the prehistoric peoples who lived in the area that was to become The Fort Randall Reservoir is not complete. The archeologist must rely upon a scattering of remains, fragments of pottery, bone, shell, and sometimes traces of house foundations to reconstruct the life of an ancient community. In The Fort Randall Reservoir there was an additional problem: dam construction was well advanced before the archeologists were able to begin digging. As a consequence, a great majority of the archeological sites were flooded before they could be examined satisfactorily. Nonetheless much was saved, largely through the efforts of the Inter-Agency Archeological Salvage Program. A large part of the material is yet to be studied in detail but the story, in its broad outlines, is now known.