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).     

Mandan And Hidatsa Villages In The Eighteenth And Nineteenth Centuries

Abstract

This paper attempts to specify, as precisely as possible, whichvillages the Mandan 11nd Hidatsa occupied in the period c. 1675 to c. 1800, how long each one was occupied, and the reasons why movement from one to another took place. It isbased primarily on the literary sources, but also makes considerable use of archaeological data, particularly unpublished material supplied by D. J. Lehmer. The evidence relating to the Mandan villages in the century or so before the greatsmallpox epidemic of 1781 is examined in detail, and it is demonstrated that there were about half-a-dozen of these villages in the Heart River district, and two or three others further up the Missouri. There follows a short accountC of the Hidatsa sites of the same period. The paper then details what is known of the northward movement of the Mandan and Hidatsa villages between 1781 and 1787, by which last date most of them had settled near the Knife River. Several accounts ofthese villages in the years before the arrival of Lewis and Clark (1804) are analyzed. The two tribes continued to live near the Knife until after the second great smallpox epidemic, in 1837. New dates are proposed for changes of villagelocations in this period (1804-1837), and it is shown that after 1834 there was only one Hidatsa village near the Knife. The paper ends with brief comments on the obscure period 1837-1845 and with a discussion of the site of the last independent Mandan village, Nuptadi, which was 11bandoned in about 1860.     

Reply to Opler on Apachean Subsistence, Residence, and Girls' Puberty Rites

Archaeological evidence shows that Apaches occupied the central Plains area from A.D. 1525–1725 in Wyoming, South Dakota. Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado. Toward the end of this period they were semi-sedentary farmers living in houses generically like those of the Plains-Prairies earth lodge. Because in their southward migration they contacted Plains-Prairies farmers earlier than those in the Southwest proper, and farming was women-dominated and residence matrilocal for the Hidatsa, Mandan, Arikara, Pawnee, and Wichita, it seems highly probable that these Plains Apaches acquired matrilocal residence and a female farming division of labor at this time before contacting Tanoans in the Southwest. The more western Apacheans, who may not have had contact with Plains tribes, could have acquired matrilocal residence from western Pueblos, including the Keresans, who were probably all matrilocal before Spanish contact. It is doubtful that the wild plant gathering of Apachean women was sufficient to cause matrilocal residence, because in parts of California and the Great Basin where women gathered a greater proportion of the diet than Apachean women, residence was vary rarely matrilocal.     

The Great Bend Aspect: A Multivariate Investigation Of Its Origins And Southern Plains Relationships

Abstract

The origins of the Great Bend aspect as well as its relations with a series of southern Plains sites are analyzed using ceramic attributes and multivariate statistics. Although the data is inadequate in certain areas the results suggest that in-situ development from earlier cultural groups is a more likely explanation than is a migration of peoples from the southern Plains.     

Economic Aspects of Mandan/Hidatsa Giveaways

Abstract

This paper eKamines the giveaway ceremonies of the Mandan and Hidatsa of Ft. Berthold Reservation. The giveaway, the public distribution of goods, is an integral part of contemporary Plains Indian culture, yet its economic and social functions have only recently been described. This paper adds to the recent studies by describing some giveaways of the Mandan and Hidatsa and identifying some of the economic aspects of the giveaway.     

An early Indian cranium from the Medicine Crow site, (39BF2), Buffalo County,South Dakota

Artifacts of Paleoindians have been found in most if not all of the Plains states; however, documented human skeletal remains from this early period are rare. The Medicine Crow cranium dates by stratigraphy and by the amount of absorbed alpha and beta radiation at between 5,000 and 2,000 B.C. This places this young adult male in the Archaic period and represents the earliest documented human skeletal material from South Dakota. It compares favorably in age with other well documented human skeletons from the Plains area, such as Lansing Man (Kansas) (3579 B.C.). Metrically, (with a cranial index of 76.7) and morphologically the Medicine Crow cranium falls well within the range of other early or middle Archaic skeletons.     

Museums and Collections

Abstract

Certain quill techniques and buckskin shirts of the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara; and the Crow are discussed Described are the plaited technique, its distribution, Manufacture, variation of style, pattern, and the type of clothing upon which it appeared. Attention is drawn to specific examples in European collections. The same type of information is covered for the quill-wrapped horse hair technique and quill decorated shirts.     

Cryptic and extensive hybridization between ancient lineages of American crows

Most species and therefore most hybrid zones have historically been defined using phenotypic characters. However, both speciation and hybridization can occur with negligible morphological differentiation. Recently developed genomic tools provide the means to better understand cryptic speciation and hybridization. The Northwestern Crow (Corvus caurinus) and American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) are continuously distributed sister taxa that lack reliable traditional characters for identification. In this first population genomic study of Northwestern and American crows, we use genomic SNPs (nuDNA) and mtDNA to investigate the degree of genetic differentiation between these crows and the extent to which they may hybridize. Our results indicate that American and Northwestern crows have distinct evolutionary histories, supported by two nuDNA ancestry clusters and two 1.1%‐divergent mtDNA clades dating to the late Pleistocene, when glacial advances may have isolated crow populations in separate refugia. We document extensive hybridization, with geographic overlap of mtDNA clades and admixture of nuDNA across >900 km of western Washington and western British Columbia. This broad hybrid zone consists of late‐generation hybrids and backcrosses, but not recent (e.g., F1) hybrids. Nuclear DNA and mtDNA clines had concordant widths and were both centred in southwestern British Columbia, farther north than previously postulated. Overall, our results suggest a history of reticulate evolution in American and Northwestern crows, perhaps due to recurring neutral expansion(s) from Pleistocene glacial refugia followed by lineage fusion(s). However, we do not rule out a contributing role for more recent potential drivers of hybridization, such as expansion into human‐modified habitats.     

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.     

A Reexamination of Roper’S Trend-Surface Analysis of Central Plains Radiocarbon Dates

Abstract

A reexamination of Roper’s (1976) trend-surface analysis of Central Plains radiocarbon dates indicates that 1) a nonlinear trend in the data was not recognized, and 2) the dates of the trend-surface contours given in her map of the Central Plains are in error. A revised trend-surface model is presented which better describes the site data and more closely agrees with the Central Plains cultural sequence.     

The Dune Buggy Site, 24RV1, and Northwestern Plains Ceramics

Abstract

The study of ceramics in the northwestern Plains has lagged since Wissler included “the lack of pottery” as one of the core Plains traits. In recent years, however, the poor development in ceramic studies is due to the lack of reported sites rather than a real void. The first part of this paper describes the Dune Buggy site and its large ceramic collection. In the second part, the pottery is identified as belonging to a non-Middle Missouri tradition and related to sites in northeastern Montana, southeastern Saskatchewan southwestern Manitoba and northwestern North Dakota. The combinations of profile, designs, and decoration appear to be heterogeneous, and an analogy is drawn to the historic period for the area to suggest an explanation for the apparent mixing. Specific problems include the lack of absolute dates and stratigraphic relationships, unpublished data, and potentially mixed components.     

The Pelland and Moe Site Blades: Paleo-Indian Culture History in the Upper Midwest

Abstract

Analysis of artifacts recovered from the Moe site located in northwestern North Dakota reveals the presence of 15 blades and three blade-like flakes, the majority of which are made of Knife River Flint and have been modified by retouch flaking. A comparison of the Moe specimens to those from the Pelland site in northern Minnesota, the only other site from the study area which contains blades of Paleo-Indian age, indicates that the Moe specimens are smaller in all dimensions. The Pelland specimens are made of Knife River Flint and have been modified by retouch flaking. Examination of the literature on Paleo-Indian sites from the Plains region indicates that blade production is more common in Plano cultures particularly Agate Basin and Plainview-Goshen than in earlier Clovis or Folsom cultures or later Cody cultures. It is suggested that the Pelland and Moe site blades are Plano in age and most likely Agate Basin or Plainview-Goshen in cultural affiliation. A model provided by Leo Pettipas (1976) is used to suggest an eastward movement of Plains Plano cultures using Knife River Flint across southern Manitoba, eastern North Dakota, and into western and northern Minnesota following the recession of Glacial Lake Agassiz.     

Was There a Northwestern Plains Sub-Culture? An Ethnographical Appraisal*

Abstract

On the basis of an examination of economy, political organization, intertribal warfare, religious life, and other factors, there is no justification for regarding the Northwestern Plains as a distinct division of the Plains Indian Culture Area.     

Scapula Skin-Dressing And Fiber-Processing Tools

Abstract

Information from ethnographic and archaeological literature supports the interpretation that some bison scapula tools were used for dressing skins. Sim!lar scapula artifacts may have been used for processing bark fiber used in making cordage or weaving. References to possible scapula processing tools from the Plains Northwest Coast, Great Lakes Riverine Area, and the Southeast are summarized. Specimens made of deer and elk scapulae probably represent functionally similar tool types. These artifacts may be more common than the available reports on Plains sites indicate, and archaeologists should exercise care when identifying scapula tools. We cannot assume that all scapula artifacts represent hoes or hoe fragments.     

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.     

Human Skeletal Populations Of The Northwestern Plains: A Preliminary Analysis

Abstract

Preliminary analysis has been completed on samples of American Indian skeletons from three museums in Wyoming, and special collections from Montana, Wyoming, northern Colorado and western Nebraska. All 84 specimens come from burial sites within the Northwestern Plains geographical region, and cover a temporal span of approximately 5,000 years. Fifty-four cranial and postcranial measurements, and 47 morphological observations were recorded for each complete specimen; and means and indices were compared among the various regional and temporal samples. Important temporal changes and a few regional differences are suggested by the preliminary results.     

Radiocarbon Dates from the Sutter Site,Northeastern Kansas

Abstract

Five radiocarbon dates from the deeply buried, preceramic Sutter site (14JN309) are evaluated. Its relative chronological position in late Plano times is substantiated by a cluster of dates at approximately 6000 B.C. Comments are made concerning the Great Plains hunting and gathering subsistence pattern.     

The Fremont Culture: Its Derivation and Ultimate Fate

Abstract

Aikens (1966) has proposed that Fremont-Promontory culture originated on the Northwestern Plains and representsan Athabascan migration into the Utah area at circa A. D. 500, their descendents, he suggests, were later forced back onto the Plains by the 12th century expansion of Shoshoneans from the Great Basin. He also proposes that FremontPromontory culture was ancestral to Dismal River culture. In this paper an alternative hypothesis is proposed, i.e., that Fremont and then Promontory cultures were sequential developments from an indigenous Utaztecan or proto-Utaztecan base and that there is no direct cultural relationship between theUtah cultures and the Dismal River aspect.