Signal Butte is a major prehistoric

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

in rural western

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

, United States. Designated by the

Smithsonian trinomial A Smithsonian trinomial (formally the Smithsonian Institution Trinomial System, abbreviated SITS) is a unique identifier assigned to archaeological sites in many states in the United States. They are composed of one or two digits coding for the sta ...

25SF1, it was one of the first pre-contact Native American sites to be formally investigated in the central plains. The archaeological sites are located atop the eponymous

butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word me ...

west of

Robidoux Pass Robidoux Pass, also known as Roubadeau Pass, Roubedeau Pass, Roubideau Pass, Roubidoux Pass and Roubadeau Pass Gap, is a gap passing through the Wildcat Hills near Scottsbluff, Nebraska about west of Gering, Nebraska. The gap was on the Great Pla ...

and

Gering, Nebraska Gering is a city in, and the county seat of, Scotts Bluff County, in the Panhandle region of Nebraska, United States. The population was 8,564 at the 2020 census. History Gering was officially founded on March 7, 1887, being located at the base ...

. It was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1961. The site is not open to the public.

Description

The eponymous Signal Butte rises about above the plains in the watershed of the

North Platte River The North Platte River is a major tributary of the Platte River and is approximately long, counting its many curves.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 21, 2011 In a ...

in westernmost Nebraska. The butte is covered by a layer of gravel and windblown soil, in which there are three distinct layers of cultural material. The oldest layers have been dated to 5,000 years ago, in the Middle Archaic Period. Finds at the site include stone projectile points and drills, and bone tools such as awls. The butte first came to the notice of professional archaeologists in 1931, when a local amateur notified

William Duncan Strong William Duncan Strong (1899–1962) was an American archaeologist and anthropologist noted for his application of the direct historical approach to the study of indigenous peoples of North and South America. Early life and education Strong was bor ...

of materials found there. Strong led investigations of the butte in 1931 and 1932, during which numerous artifacts were found, as well as features such as storage pits, fireplace hearths, and other signs of repeated habitation. The site is one of the first from which a

radiocarbon date Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was dev ...

was obtained, although the exact dates of habitation have been the subject of some controversy and ongoing debate. The site was investigated further in the 1940s and 1950s, at which time it was established that the sites probably represented seasonal hunting camps.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places National Historic Landmarks in Nebraska Geography of Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska National Register of Historic Places in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska

Description

See also

References