THE OCCURRENCE OF FOSSIL AND RECENT DENTALIUM AT 4 LATE PREHISTORIC ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN THE BLACK-HILLS PERIPHERY, WESTERN SOUTH-DAKOTA

The occurrence of dentalium shells in prehistoric archaeological conte xts on the Great Plains has been viewed by most prehistorians as a ref lection of an exotic material acquired through long distance trade. Re cent excavations at the Smiley-Evans site (39BU2) and the Huston-Fox s ite (39MD133) on the Belle Fourche River in western South Dakota resul ted in the discovery of a small amount of fossil Dentalium gracile ava ilable locally in the upper portion of the Late Cretaceous Pierre Shal e. A comparable analysis of archaeological materials from the Phelps s ite (39CU206) on Battle Creek revealed Recent, marine Dentalium sp. Th ese findings underscore the necessity of distinguishing locally derive d fossil dentalium from the more exotic coastal shell which may have b een procured from either the West or East coasts.