The Avifauna from Prehistoric Arikara Sites in South Dakota

Abstract

During an approximate 15-year period from about 1950 to 1965, numerous anthropologists representing at least a dozen institutions were periodically involved in archaeological salvage of Plains sites in the Middle Missouri Valley. In many instances the cultural aspects of subsistence and the utilization of native fauna in general were not of primary interest. However, some animal bone was salvaged and this discussion involves the study of the avian remains from 51 prehistoric Arikara sites along the Missouri River in South Dakota. Approximately 3,100 bird elements, representing 22 families and about 68 species, were identified. Although mammals, especially the bison, elk, deer, and pronghorn, provided the greatest quantity of meat in the diet of these people, birds were also of special significance as supplemental food (e.g. waterfowl, grouse) and because of the part they played in the cultural and ceremonial activities of the Plains Indian. The predominance of remains of such groups as eagles, hawks, harriers, owls, and ravens in these sites is indicative of their special cultural significance; in some instances, such as eagle trapping by the Hidatsa and Mandan, they can be correlated with ethnohistoric accounts dealing with the utilization of birds.     

From Band To Tribe On The Plains11

Abstract

Cultural ecologists, such as Steward and Shirnkin, hold that the core features of a culture, namely socio-political systems, are closely related to subsistence activities and economic arrangements which, in turn, are influenced but not ecessarily determined by the natural habitat of the group. A study of the Plains adaptations of the Piegan, Kiowa, Comanche, Plains Cree, and Plains Shoshone throw some doubt on this the sis. The Piegan (and other Blackfoot tribes), Plains Shoshone, and Kiowa share common forms of political organization with other Plains tribes but the Comanche and Plains Cree represent atypical cases in. this regard. The first three tribes developed pan-tribal sodalities while the latter two did not do so. The presence or absence of these pan-tribal sodalities conditioned the extent to which tribal integration occurred in these groups. The subsistence activities of these tribes alone do not account for the weak or strong development of pan-tribal structures. Factors in the total environment of each tribe, or niche, account for these differences. These differences in political organization cannot be attributed solely to differences in subsistence activities nor economic arrangements as they are influenced by the specific natural habitat of each tribe.     

Craniometric Relationships of Plains Populations: Historical and Evolutionary Implications

Abstract

Large skeletal samples from cemeteries in the Northern Plains near Mobridge, South Dakota have made possible the accurate determination of craniometric relationships between populations ancestoral to the historic Arikara. There is considerable change throughout the approximately 200 years represented, due primarily to gene flow from adjacent Siouan speaking groups. Arikara crania from the Northern Plains are seen to be morphologically similar to earlier crania further south, in particular St. Helena materials in northeastern Nebraska. This offers Support for the archaeological hypothesis that Coalescent Tradition cultures grew out of the Central Plains Tradition. Early crania from the Northern Plains are markedly different from those in the Central Plains and more similar to historic Mandan. The craniometric evidence argues for biological continuity rather than replacement in the Plains area.     

A Plains Woodland Burial from the Badlands of Western Nebraska

Abstract

Late Plains Woodland burial from a badlands region of western Sioux County, Nebraska produced the nearly complete skeleton of a robust adult male. Burial practices and associated grave goods are typical for the Woodland culture. However, osteological analysis has revealed a pattern of physical characteristics for the human skeleton which shows no real affinity to known Woodland populations to the south and east. Rather, the traits resemble very closely those of the nearly contemporaneous Late Middle Period people of Wyoming, to the immediate west. This lends evidence in support of recent hypotheses regarding the spread of Woodland culture across the central and western Plains.     

Two Mummies From The Pitchfork Rock Shelter In Northwestern Wyoming

Abstract

A protohistoric rock shelter burial from the Pitchfork Site in northwestern Wyoming produced two partially mummified skeletons of young adult male American Indians. Preserved clothing, buffalorobes, trade goods and additional cultural items were present. Equally well preserved is the twisted and braided scalp hair of one mummy, andother bodily tissues sufficiently preserved to reveal forms of cultural modification and ornamentation. Osteological analysis of the specimens reveals patterns of physical characteristics typical of Late Prehistoric and protohistoric populations of the northwestern Plains.     

Timber Procurement and Village Location in the Middle Missouri Subarea

Abstract

Foodstuffs have frequently been regarded as one of the foremost variables when considering population distribution and village location across the landscape. However, other variables may be at least as important as the availability of food. Timber has been noted as a material that is important for fuel and construction purposes, and in some cases can be resource that is crucial for population maintenance in an area.

The importance of timber is examined for the Plains Village populations of the Middle Missouri Subarea, timber succession is examined, and village location in relation to timber resources hypothesized     

Archaic Skeletal Remains from the Central Plains: Demography and Burial Practices

Abstract

Recently a number of reports on Plains Archaic skeletal material have been published which quadruple the number of burials described and analyzed in the literature. Although the total number of burials is still relatively small, it is large enough to allow research to begin in paieodemographic aspects of the central part of thePlains and the suggestion of burial patterns for these materials. By combining all Archaic burials from the Plains a demographic profile has been developed. It is compared with other Archaic populations from the eastern United States, and with a Plains population dating after A.O. 1000. The results of the analysis show that with few exceptions burial patterns and the demographic picture of the Plains are quite stable over time, although differences are found in metric and non-metric variations in both the time and space continua. The analysis further shows that certain anomalous conditions in the skeleton appear to be much more prevalent inArchaic material than in recent material from the same area. The results finally suggest that Archaic people in the demographic and burial practice continua are quite similar to later populations, at least through Middle Mississippian populationsin the Plains.     

Plains History and Cultural Anthropology

Abstract

Recent cutbacks in research funding and the burgeoning population of anthropology graduate departments may soon force cultural anthropologists to recognize what their archaeological colleagues have long known: their own “backyard” is a field for fertile research. Specifically, cultural anthropologists may turn increasingly to using long-neglected data sources - rich in documentation - on Anglo-Saxon America. This paper briefly investigates some reasons for the study of American historical data and presents a preliminary analysis of some data.     

House Floors and Native Settlement Populations in the Central Plains

Abstract

The quantitative relationships between aboriginal abuse floor and village areas and the associated native populations have long interested archeologists and lrehistorians. With varying success, formulae for lStimating these relationships have been proposed for some groups in certain regions and at different levels of cultural complexity. The present paper undertakes o correlate Central Plains historical, ethnographical, md archeological materials on the Pawnee and Nichita in search of clues to the estimation of prehistoric population patterns in the region. It is suggested that documentary evidence points toward a atio of approximately 5 square meters per person tmong the historic peoples, who inhabited circular one-room structures with lodge populations someimes reported to reach 50 people per house. rcheological evidence indicates that the subrecangular dwellings of the prehistoric Central Plains Tradition were generally smaller, with one-or two-family habitations perhaps more common than he larger multi-family households of the post-White contact period.     

A Mathematical Theory of Horse Adoption on The North American Plains

Abstract

The horse complex and its subsequent influence on Plains culture is a major topic of Plains anthropology. Treatment of the topic has involved three trains of thoughts: 1) the process (form and rate) of horse adoption, 2) the spatial diffusion of the horse northward, and 3) the influence of the horse on Plains culture. This paper contributes to the study of the horse complex by focusing primarily on the adoption aspect of the problem and, secondarily, on the social implications for the plains area of the temporal regularity evident. The paper outlines a new theoretical explanation of the actual process of horse adoption-an S-curve hypothesis suggesting that adoption initially accelerated rapidly and then declined more slowly as all Plains tribes ultimately adopted the horse. We verify this hypothesis with documented empirical evidence on the adoption process derived from Ewers (1955). The empirical evidence and S-curve interpretation suggest: 1) two distinct groups of Plains tribes existed on the Plains, a southern and northern, separated by two webs of communication, 2) that this communication was frequent, and 3) that the two systems were well developed before the arrival of the horse.     

High Plains wheat mosaic virus: An enigmatic disease of wheat and corn causing the High Plains disease

Brief historyIn 1993, severe mosaic and necrosis symptoms were observed on corn (maize) and wheat from several Great Plains states of the USA. Based on the geographical location of infections, the disease was named High Plains disease and the causal agent was tentatively named High Plains virus. Subsequently, researchers renamed this virus as maize red stripe virus and wheat mosaic virus to represent the host and symptom phenotype of the virus. After sequencing the genome of the pathogen, the causal agent of High Plains disease was officially named as High Plains wheat mosaic virus. Hence, High Plains virus, maize red stripe virus, wheat mosaic virus, and High Plains wheat mosaic virus (HPWMoV) are synonyms for the causal agent of High Plains disease.TaxonomyHigh Plains wheat mosaic virus is one of the 21 definitive species in the genus Emaravirus in the family Fimoviridae.VirionThe genomic RNAs are encapsidated in thread‐like nucleocapsids in double‐membrane 80–200 nm spherical or ovoid virions.Genome characterizationThe HPWMoV genome consists of eight single‐stranded negative‐sense RNA segments encoding a single open reading frame (ORF) in each genomic RNA segment. RNA 1 is 6,981‐nucleotide (nt) long, coding for a 2,272 amino acid protein of RNA‐dependent RNA polymerase. RNA 2 is 2,211‐nt long and codes for a 667 amino acid glycoprotein precursor. RNA 3 has two variants of 1,439‐ and 1,441‐nt length that code for 286 and 289 amino acid nucleocapsid proteins, respectively. RNA 4 is 1,682‐nt long, coding for a 364 amino acid protein. RNA 5 and RNA 6 are 1,715‐ and 1,752‐nt long, respectively, and code for 478 and 492 amino acid proteins, respectively. RNA 7 and RNA 8 are 1,434‐ and 1,339‐nt long, code for 305 and 176 amino acid proteins, respectively.Biological propertiesHPWMoV can infect wheat, corn (maize), barley, rye brome, oat, rye, green foxtail, yellow foxtail, and foxtail barley. HPWMoV is transmitted by the wheat curl mite and through corn seed.Disease managementGenetic resistance against HPWMoV in wheat is not available, but most commercial corn hybrids are resistant while sweet corn varieties remain susceptible. Even though corn hybrids are resistant to virus, it still serves as a green bridge host that enables mites to carry the virus from corn to new crop wheat in the autumn. The main management strategy for High Plains disease in wheat relies on the management of green bridge hosts. Cultural practices such as avoiding early planting can be used to avoid mite buildup and virus infections.     

The Plains Agon - A Gross Typology

Abstract

In the prevailing view of Plains experts the classic post-horse, post-gun agon (the total physical and psychological military complex) consisted of either two or three different types of military event, generally divided into “scalp raids” and “horse raids.” The literature on Plains agonistics indicates, however, that the Equestrian pattern of intergroup hostilities consisted of at least seven disti net types of military operations.     

Southern Athapaskan Names in Early Spanish Records*

Abstract

Tribal names of the Plains can be grouped in two general classes, the first and apparently oldest based on a paired Taka, People, and Paka, Enemy People system, with regularly prefixing syllables Pa-, Ta-, Ka-, Ma-, and Sa-, combining and recombining in a Linnaean system of ascending degrees of specificity. The second class, a consonant-cluster system apparently intrusive from the North, is best recorded in Southern Athapaskan languages. Continuous interaction of the two systems account for the very wide range of name forms recorded in the Plains.     

Fortified Villages In The Northern Plains*

Abstract

The varied defensive systems of villages in the northern Plains are used as the basis for an inference of change in the patterns of warfare.     

A Shoshonean Origin for the Plains Shield Bearing Warrior Motif

Abstract

The shield bearing warrior is a distinctive motif characteristic of the rock art of the Northwestern Plains. It also occurs commonly in the eastern Great Basin as an element of Fremont rock art. Detailed similarities between Plains and Great Basin shield figures suggest cultural relationships between the two areas. This has led some authors to propose that the motif originated in the Northwestern Plains and diffused to the Great Basin. Others argue that the motif spread from the Great Basin to the Plains. Relative dates recently obtained for shield figures at Northwestern Plains sites support the latter hypothesis. A Shoshonean origin for the Northwestern Plains shield figures is suggested by the dates, and the coincidence between the distribution of the motif, the distribution of diagnostic Shoshonean artifacts. and the ethnohistorically known range of the Plains Shoshone. It is suggested that the Shoshone borrowed the motif from the Fremont Culture during a period of interaction between the two groups.

The shield bearing warrior, a distinctive motif that depicts a pedestrian warrior whose body is represented by a large circular shield (Fig. 1), is frequently encountered in the rock art of the western United States. It is especially common at sites on the Northwestern Plains and in the eastern Great Basin (Fig. 2).     

The Devils Lake — Sourisford Burial Complex on the Northeastern Plains

Abstract

Isolated, exotic mortuary items have been reported on the Northeastern Plains for a number of decades. The necessity of analyzing an unusual miniature vessel with incised Thunderbirds and broken arrows and lizard or salamander effigies resulted in re-definition of the whole complex plus the development of a temporal-ecological model to derive a dynamic framework for postulating a series of inferences.

The exotic items such as incised miniature vessels, whelk shell gorgets, tubular pipes, columella shell beads, and incised stone tablets found in Canada and the U.S. are defined as part of the Devils Lake-Sourisford Burial Complex. This complex was left by nomadic Siouan peoples who settled on the Northeastern Plains during the Neo-Atlantic Climatic Period when Mississippian populations were undergoing maximum expansion and influence. These nomads were involved in a seasonal cycle following the bison herds bet Ween the Plains and the Aspen Parkland. They buried their dead primarily during the spring when they were leaving the Aspen Parkland and sheltered valleys. Only one village site, possibly related to this complex, has been anaylized to date but a series of anticipated results are presented.     

Powers Within: Artists and Anthropologists Work together to Create Andean Mythic Beasts and Elements of Nature in Their Own Image

The commonly held contemporary vision of Andean spirituality as expressed in art results from collaborations between anthropologists, artists and image-makers of both persuasions over many generations. Throughout its history, this tradition has displayed a multiethnic character. Images of animals and elements of nature have particular importance, especially those which inspire awe and fear. Modern communication systems may reverse a general trend characterized by blending and loss, and create instead an era in which complex religious/natural imagery becomes broadly expressed and perceived worldwide.     

Bergmann’s Rule,Adaptation, and Thermoregulation in Arctic Animals: Conflicting Perspectives from Physiology,Evolutionary Biology,and Physical Anthropology After World War II

Bergmann’s rule and Allen’s rule played important roles in mid-twentieth century discussions of adaptation, variation, and geographical distribution. Although inherited from the nineteenth-century natural history tradition these rules gained significance during the consolidation of the modern synthesis as evolutionary theorists focused attention on populations as units of evolution. For systematists, the rules provided a compelling rationale for identifying geographical races or subspecies, a function that was also picked up by some physical anthropologists. More generally, the rules provided strong evidence for adaptation by natural selection. Supporters of the rules tacitly, or often explicitly, assumed that the clines described by the rules reflected adaptations for thermoregulation. This assumption was challenged by the physiologists Laurence Irving and Per Scholander based on their arctic research conducted after World War II. Their critique spurred a controversy played out in a series of articles in Evolution, in Ernst Mayr’s Animal Species and Evolution, and in the writings of other prominent evolutionary biologists and physical anthropologists. Considering this episode highlights the complexity and ambiguity of important biological concepts such as adaptation, homeostasis, and self-regulation. It also demonstrates how different disciplinary orientations and styles of scientific research influenced evolutionary explanations, and the consequent difficulties of constructing a truly synthetic evolutionary biology in the decades immediately following World War II.     

Some Wooden Scraper Handles From the Great Plains and The Southwest

Abstract

Adze-shaped scraper handles of antler are well known from the Plains area. Tools of the same pattern, of wood, are less well known and are virtually unmentioned in the literature and the tool in both antler and wood is unmentioned from the Pueblo area. Data on size and distribution of a large group of these objects in wood, from both the Plains and the Pueblo area are presented here, with some discussion of their possible origin.