The DB site contained valuable information about people in the past--information that would have been lost forever if the site had not been excavated by professional archaeologists. Archaeological sites are national treasures, and help us learn about distant times and long-dead people.

Archaeologists need your help to preserve our nation's cultural heritage. Please don't loot archaeological sites; treat them with care, and realize that without good provenience information, artifacts cannot reveal much about the people who made them. Feel free to contact archaeologists at the state universities and at the Kansas State Historical Society with information you have about sites in your area.

Recommended reading

If you are interested in learning more about the prehistory of Kansas, here are some good sources:

Archeology in Kansas by Patricia J. O'Brien (1984). It may be available in local bookstores, or write the Publications Secretary, Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045 (this book is No. 9 in the Public Education Series). This book describes survey techniques and site recording for the amateur as well as diagnostic artifacts from the major time periods in Kansas.

The Kansas Anthropologist, the journal of the Kansas Anthropological Association. For information about the journal, membership in the KAA, and educational opportunities such as archaeological field schools, contact Virginia Wulfkuhle at the Archeology Office of the Kansas State Historical Society, 6425 SW 6th Ave., Topeka, KS 66615-1099 (913-272-8681, ext. 268).

Credits

All illustrations of artifacts were done by Sarah Moore. Other figures were by Dave Eames of the Kansas City Star (Figure 3) and Matthew Hill (Figure 4). Text was written by Margaret Beck. The web version was prepared by Janice McLean.