Brad Logan

The fat of the land : White Rock phase bison hunting and grease production

A focal bison hunting economy is evident for the White Rock phase, a Late Prehistoric Oneota culture of the Central Plains. This adaptation contrasts with the more generalized animal procurement of the preceding Central Plains tradition and is similar to that of regional protohistoric cultures, such as the Lower Loup phase. Faunal remains from the White Rock site (14JW1), including those from a bone grease production feature, support this interpretation.

Western Oneota obsidian : Sources and implications

Abstract Exotic lithic raw materials provide insight into exchange relations and mobility of prehistoric populations. Toward this end, obsidian flakes from two western Oneota sites, Warne in north central Kansas and Blood Run in northwestern Iowa, were sourced using x-ray fluorescence spectrometry. With the exception of two artifacts from Warne, all were traced to parent obsidian sources in the northwestern Plains and Plateau regions. Obsidian pieces from Warne compare favorably with geologic samples from Malad, Idaho (n=4) and Obsidian Ridge, New Mexico (n=2). Trace element composition in the Blood Run flakes is congruent with sourced standards from Obsidian Cliff, Wyoming (n=5) and Bear Gulch, Idaho (n=l). The artifacts from Warne point to down-the-line acquisition during contact with groups closer to their sources to the west and south. Such contact may have occurred during bison hunting forays in those directions. The low incidence of New Mexico obsidian supports the Late Prehistoric temporal placement of the White Rock phase. The sources of obsidian from Blood Run are consistent with those of artifacts from earlier sites in Iowa, particularly those of the Middle Woodland period, and reflect the maintenance of trade relations with northern Plains groups.

Late Prehistoric Oneota population movement into the central Plains

Abstract The White Rock phase is an intrusive Late Prehistoric archaeological complex in the central Plains. It shows clear ties to the Oneota tradition of the upper Midwest. Population movement best explains the presence of this Oneota complex in the Plains. Interpretations of seasonal mobility or migration are evaluated through analysis of White Rock phase assemblages. Evidence for gardening and lithic material use patterns suggest permanent or year-round occupation of the central Plains resulting from the Oneota migration.

Frontier Life: Late Prehistoric Adaptations of the Kansas City Locality

Abstract Late Prehistoric (AD 900–1500) adaptations along the lower Missouri River in the Kansas City locality include two distinct contemporaneous archaeological cultures, Steed-Kisker and Pomona. Both are reviewed with emphasis on interaction, change, and continuity. Evidence from other sites in northeastern Kansas, a prairie-woodland ecotone, points to interaction where their culture core areas overlapped, a locality that was a frontier throughout much of prehistory between cultures of the eastern woodlands and the Great Plains. Recent investigation of house remains at the Scott and Caenen sites, representing the Steed-Kisker and Pomona cultures respectively, provides significant insight concerning relations or lack thereof. About 130 years apart in time of occupation, they are only 350 m distant in Stranger Creek valley, the last major tributary of the Kansas River before its confluence with the Missouri River. Both illustrate the contrasting nature of these adaptations, specifically change from a Woodland adaptation represented by Steed-Kisker and continuity with respect to it represented by Pomona, which persisted longer. The possibility of assimilation of both cultures with the Oneota tradition during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries is discussed.

A Late Prehistoric bison processing camp in the central Plains: Montana Creek East (14JW46)

Abstract Bison utilization during the Late Prehistoric period in the central Plains varied from the diffuse pattern that characterizes the Central Plains tradition to the focal pattern of the westernmost Oneota. Both patterns are represented at sites in the Lovewell locality on White Rock Creek, a tributary of the lower Republican River in north-central Kansas. Intensive bison exploitation is also represented at the Montana Creek East (14JW46) site within this locality. Abundant faunal remains indicative of marrow and bone grease processing are associated with the varied, if modest, lithic and ceramic assemblages. These do not suggest use by Oneota or Central Plains tradition peoples although a date fits the Late Prehistoric period. A buried Plains Woodland component, previously undocumented at Lovewell, indicates earlier evidence of bison hunting. Together the remains at this and certain other sites at Lovewell indicate extensive use of bison by different groups.

Lithic Resources, Terrain Variation and Prehistoric Site Distribution in the Kansas City Locality

Variation in the distribution of prehistoric sites within a major tributary watershed of the lower Kan sas River is seen to reflect a variety of environmental variables. These include the distribution of preferred chert resources, the contrast in drainage efficiency between the principal stream valley and the valleys of its tributaries, and the differential effects of fluvial processes on the preservation or erosion of alluvial terraces. Comparison of these variables to those throughout the Kansas City locality demonstrates their influence on the settlement patterns of the prehistoric inhabitants of that region. These data provide the basis for further comparison with other localities in the Prairie Peninsula.

The Ghost Dance among the Paiute: An Ethnohistorical View of the Documentary Evidence 1889-1893

Historical evidence concerning the Ghost Dance of 1889 among the Paiute is presented. The evidence contrasts with that presented by Mooney (1896) for the Sioux. It is suggested that that contrast can be explained by the differing acculturation processes these groups experienced. In particular it is suggested that the role of Jack Wilson, the Ghost Dance Prophet, as a charismatic leader was the primary factor in the adoption of this religion by the Paiute. Among the Sioux the revelations of the Prophet were of more importance than his personality.

A Matter of Time: The Temporal Relationship of Oneota and Central Plains Traditions

Abstract Sites of the Central Plains and Oneota traditions in the Lovewell Reservoir locality, north-central Kansas, provide radiocarbon dates critical to the problem of relations between these Late Prehistoric cultures. Statistical tests of dates from eight sites of that period suggest late thirteenth century occupation by both traditions, and perhaps a third. Despite temporal and geographic proximity, there is no clear archaeological evidence of interaction between these distinct cultures at Lovewell. Temporal placement of Oneota sites at Lovewell is also critical to identification of candidate sites or areas of origin for migrants to that locality. Dates from other western Oneota sites (Leary, Swantek, Ashland, and Dixon) post-date A.D. 1300, indicating they could not have been points of origin for these migrants. Pending a greater sample of radiocarbon dates from all western Oneota sites, hypotheses are offered that posit late thirteenth century Oneota migration to the Lovewell locality from an as yet unidentified Oneota locale that may have displaced some CPt groups.

Caddoan Archaeology on the High Plains: A Critique

The interpretations of the Wallace site offered by Huffman and Earley are invalid. The site is not Upper Republican in affiliation, the structural remains in it do not support the interpretations made, and the proposed correspondences to Pawnee cosmology are based on unjustified assumptions.