A Study of Custer-Washita River Foci Relationships

Abstract

A review of Custer and Washita River foci relationships and origins as seen by earlier workers is presented. Data nowavailable is then considered in an attempt to illustrate the nature of the relationship between these foci. A consideration of changes in ceramic styles, frequencies of certain bone tools, and of radiocarbon dates suggests a continuum of development between the Custer and Washita River foci. This continuum, based on a Plains Woodland complex, sees the early horticulturalists of the Custer focus giving rise to the later Washita River focus peoples. The continuum hypothesis is presented with the need for further documentation in mind.     

Plain Facts

Abstract

The identification of an early lithic horizon in Oklahoma is made and theories concerning its cultural affiliation, site locations, distribution, and artifact typology are described.

The common characteristics of 20 sites in central Oklahoma are listed; site location - on high ground and on tributaries rather than streams; lithic debris found mostly in eroded gullies, quartzite material and core tools predominant on most sites, finished tools found in a minority of sites; Plainview points found at 2 sites and points being generally very rare; and no pottery on any sites.

The culture is equated at the technological 11level11 of the Cochise culture of southern Arizona and New Mexico.     

Blue Blanket Island (39WW9) an Historic Contact Site in the Oahe Reservoir Near Mobridge,South Dakota

Abstract

The Blue Blanket Island site (39WW9), a small, fortified, proto-historic Indian village on an island in the Missouri River, in Walworth County, South Dakota, was partially excavated by a River Basin Surveys crew in August 1961. One centrally located earthlodge, sections of the fortification, storage pits, and middens were excavated. Artifacts were scanty but architectural details were informative. The lodge was 18 sided with a short entry wayto the south (river side) and leaner posts of split cedar. The palisade was of split posts and the ditch was wide and shallow. The site appears to have been an Arikara village of short duration, probably occupied during the 1780’s and 1790’s. The abandoned remains of this village were noted by Lewis and Clark in 1804.     

The Northern Cheyenne Sun Dance and the Opening of the Sacred Medicine Hat 1959

Abstract

In 1959, after several years of teaching the Northern Cheyenne on the Tongue River Reservation in Montana, the writer was able to observe the annual Sun Dance in some detail, to photograph it, and to be present at the rare opening of the Sacred Medicine Hat Bundle which followed. This account reports the main events which took place, and establishes that the Northern Cheyenne Sun Dance has not only survived but has undergone relatively little change since it was reported by Grinnell in 1910. Marked similarity is also seen with the older Southern Cheyenne ceremony recorded by Dorsey in Oklahoma in 1903.

The Medicine Hat, still an object of much veneration, was inspected after a series of misadventures to determine whether its contents were safe, and thus was provided an opportunity to view for the first time in more than 25 years an old and famous object of significance in Plains religion.     

Perry Ranch:A Plainview Bison Kill On the Southern Plains

Abstract

Salvage excavations at the Perry Ranch site in southwestern Oklahoma uncovered the association of Plainview projectile points with an extinct subspecies of bison. A radiocarbon date of 7030 ± 190 B.P. has been obtained from bison bone at the site. However, stratigraphic disturbances limit inferences about the cultural activities at the site.     

Jackson Fall-Leaf: A Multi-Component Occupation Site Inc Northeasternc Oklahoma

Abstract

The Jackson Fall-Leaf site is a deeply buried multi-component occupation site located in the Little Caney River Valley of Northeastern Oklahoma. The site, situated in the Cross Timbers province on the southeastern periphery of the Southern Plains, contains cultural debris from the Woodland and Plains Village periods. Excavation produced a large quantity of chipped stone artifacts and allowed the delineation of an activity area within the site. Typological cross dating, in combination with intensive paleo-environmental research at the site and at other locales in the Copan area, indicates that the site dates from the period between A.D. 500 and A.D. 1300.     

A Re-Analysis of the Routes of Coronado and Oñate into the Plains in 1541 and 1601

Abstract

A re-study based upon translations of the original documents is made of the many published routes suggested for Coronado’s and Oñate’s routes into the Plains. The point is made that disagreements among historians stem from the differing initial point of reference, a bridge thrown across a large river. Others have identified this river as the Pecos but Schroeder feels the evidence shows this is the Canadian River. Coronado’s route is then traced across the Plains to the Cimarron River. From this point to Quivira Schroeder is in agreement with other historians that the route was along the Arkansas River. He also agrees with Wedel’s archaeological location of Quivira as being in the Rice-McPherson County area of Kansas. The separate routes of Coronado’s army and party are then traced back to the Pecos Pueblo along what Schroeder deduces to have been more or less a straight line across the Oklahoma-Texas Panhandles.

Oñte’s later trip into the Plains is compared with Coronado’s. Considered in some detail are the intervening location of the Apachean and Plains Caddoan groups in relation to each other as suggested by the statements of the various chroniclers. The conclusion is reached that Oñate’s Quivira was located farther south than that visited by Coronado. Schroeder feels that Wedel’s archaeological work supports this view and concludes that Oñate’s Quivira extended slightly farther south along the Chicaskia River near Ponca City, Oklahoma.     

Cultural Persistence and Cultural Change As Reflected in Oklahoma Seneca-Cayuga Ceremonialism1

Abstract

The Seneca-Cayuga group of Oklahoma are descendants of a band which detached itself from the Iroquois proper in 1750 and was joined by elements of the 6 Iroquois nations in 1800. Later, the combined group exchanged Ohio land for holdings in Oklahoma.

The focus of modern tribal life is the annual Greencorn Festival consisting of 4 major rites: the Personal Chant, the Turtle Shell Dance, the Thanksgiving Dance and the Peach Seed Game. Various women’s dances, social and exotic dances of non-Iroquian origin are also staged.

It is concluded that major ceremonial elements are shared with the Iroquois proper. Borrowed elements are several versions of Plains dances and others derived from Shawnee and Delaware neighbors in Ohio and Oklahoma. Additionally Pan-Indian dances may be substitutes for vanishing tribal lore. There is a rejection of non-Iroquian ceremonial custom by the Seneca-Cayuga group similar to that found among another Iroquian group, the Wisconsin Oneida. The author attributes this to the toughness of Iroquois culture.     

The Jared Site: A Comanche Burial at Fort Sill,Oklahoma

Abstract

A late-19th century ravine burial from Southwest Oklahoma is described. The site is compared with historic and anthropological records to document a nineteenth century Comanche burial practice.     

A Site in the Fort Randall Reservoir1

Abstract

Site 39BR201 is an earth-lodge village located in the upper Fort Randall reservoir, Brdle County, South Dakota. Excavation of 1/2 of each of 2 circular earth-lodges, a midden area, and 8 test pits was done in the late summer of 1954 by Paul L. Cooper of the Smithsonian Institution, River Basin Surveys. Talking Crow Straight Rim, Talking Crow Indented, and Cadotte Collared pottery types make up most of the rim sherd sample. The presence of a few fragments of brass and iron in the features indicates a date in the late 17th or early 18th centuries for the occupation of the site. The ceramic material is related to that from the Two Teeth site and the Talking Crow site.     

Some Materials On The Assimilation Of Oklahoma Indians

Abstract

This article describes, in quite general terms, the current condition of the Indians of Oklahoma, with particular attention given the Cherokee. The author views the system of allotments in severalty and the policies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs as principal factors underlying the increased rate of assimilation of the Oklahoma tribes. She deals briefly with the Native American Church, and cites this as evidence of a reaction to assimilation on the part of the Indians.     

A Copper Spearhead from Western Oklahoma

Abstract

Metallurgical analysis of a copper spearhead from Custer County, Oklahoma, indicates prehistoric workmanship and distant trade contacts.     

Effects of stone topography on abundance of net-building caddisfly larvae and arthropod diversity in an upland stream

We investigated whether small pits on the surfaces of stream stones affected abundances of net-spinning, hydropsychid larvae (Trichoptera) and species diversity in the Acheron River, southeastern Australia. On stream stones, nets occurred more often in small (at least 5 mm width) pits than expected by chance. However, proportionately high numbers of pits were not associated with high abundances of either of two species of hydropsychid larvae (both Asmicridea spp). A colonization experiment, using bricks with 0, 4, 12 or 30 small (diam. 5.5 mm) and large (13 mm) pits drilled into the top surfaces, showed that numbers of nets were related to numbers of pits. Small pits were preferred over large ones and the pits, as a group, were occupied almost entirely by late instars of both species. However, only Asmicridea sp. 1 was more abundant on pitted bricks; Asmicridea sp. 2 showed no response. The differences between the species, and between the stone and brick results, can be explained by different proportions of late instars in the samples. Many I instars probably did not make nets. Hence, higher numbers of larvae on pitted surfaces is expected only when late instars are relatively frequent, as was true for Asmicridea sp. 1 on bricks. There were no effects of pits per se or increased numbers of hydropsychid nets on species diversity or the abundances of other common species. These results contrast with those of other studies, which found stone topography or hydropsychid nets to increase species diversity on stones.     

Reappraisal of Oklahomaichnus,a supposed amphibian trackway from the Pennsylvanian of Oklahoma,USA

Oklahomaichnus millsii Sarjeant, from the Pennsylvanian (Missourian) Nellie Bly Formation of Oklahoma, is not the trackway of a lepospondyl amphibian, as originally proposed. Instead, it is the undertrack of an arthropod.     

The Middle Missouri Tradition: the Late Stage

Abstract

Two prehistoric complexes in the northern part of the Middle Missouri area, the Thomas Riggs and Huff Foci, comprise the late stage of the Middle Missouri Tradition. Although transitional sites are as yet lacking, this late stage is regarded as an outgrowth of the early stages of the same tradition, localized further south along the Missouri River in South Dakota. The Huff Focus postdates the Thomas Riggs Focus and is a direct outgrowth of Thomas Riggs, both foci being assigned to the Fire Heart Aspect. This aspect is the prehistoric antecedent for the Heart River Focus, the protohistoric express ion of Historic Mandan culture. Brief comments are offeredon the history, or1g1ns, distribution, characteristics, dating, and relationships of the Thomas Riggs and Huff Foci.     

Projectile Points From Preceramic Occupations Near Fort Thompson,South Dakota: A Preliminary Report*

Abstract

The article describes in detail and illustrates 58 projectile points excavated from five sites within a six mile radius near the Big Bend of the Missouri River.Geological interpretations, as well as typological relationships to previously reported points outside of the region, indicate a local human prehistory of at least 8, 000 years.     

First observations of intersex development in paddlefish Polyodon spathula

This study reports the first cases of intersex (abnormal development of both male and female reproductive tissues in a gonad) paddlefish Polyodon spathula, an Acipenseriform species of large rivers in the central U.S. and in aquaculture worldwide. Despite a large, multi-decadal data set in Oklahoma, Montana, and North Dakota, intersex development was not observed until 2019, when two individuals were harvested from the Grand Lake/Neosho River stock in Oklahoma. This suggests that intersex development in mid-water, zooplanktivorous paddlefish is rarer than in bottom-dwelling sturgeons for which intersex development is regularly observed. Although contaminants are implicated in causing intersex development in other Acipenseriformes, more investigation is needed.     

The Kickapoo Whistle System: A Speech Surrogate

Abstract

The Mexican and Oklahoma whistle and flute languages are presented as dual surrogates which have been maintained and utilized as communications systems for over 100 years.     

Salvage Archaeology at a Site Near Fort Thompson. South Dakota

Abstract

Construction of dams and reservoirs along the Missouri River has resulted in an accelerated program of archaeological field-work. Many sites have been surveyed, numerous others tested, and a lesser number extensively excavated. Surveys and test excavations will add to previously gathered data in terms of the geographical distribution of diagnostic artifacts, speculative routes of migration and cultural diffusion. The minutiae from the tested sites may offer reasons for the re-evaluation of established concepts or they may strengthen current archaeological interpretations.

The Farm School site, reported here, received limited tests. The artifact inventory suggests the presence of 2 ceramic components and contributes to information regarding the Fort Thompson and Campbell Creek foci in South Dakota.