NO. 7 PAWNEE ARCHEOLOGY WEDEL I9 



proof of recent arrival. Three of the five "sacred places" of the tribe 

 were on the Loup and Platte within 50 miles of their junction ; the 

 other two were in southern Nebraska and northern Kansas "* ; and 

 a number of their myths and tales relate directly to this neighborhood. 



It must be apparent by this time that there exists little else than 

 academic grounds for questioning the presence of the Pawnee as 

 a firmly ensconced tribe in the Platte-Loup region since at least the 

 coming of the whites. The data of tradition, history, ethnography, 

 and mythology all support this inference. Moreover, the numerous 

 archeological similarities between the historic Pawnee and the earlier 

 Lower Loup Focus reflect essentially the same dual mode of life. 

 Viewed in the light of history, the differences in materials from the 

 two complexes are not so great as to strain the probability of a 

 common authorship. They involve details rather than fundamentals. 

 The greater richness, abundance, and variety of remains on the proto- 

 historic sites indicate a general level of cultural achievement far 

 above that of the historic Pawnee. If, as is very probable, this 

 superiority extends to the nonmaterial side of life as well, then the 

 protohistoric period may be regarded as the climax of social, cere- 

 monial, and political development in the Pawnee area. The culmina- 

 tion must have been reached before 1750. Thereafter came a steady 

 decline which left the nineteenth century peoples in possession of a 

 much simpler and clearly decadent cultural heritage, though the 

 recorded myths as well as many political and ceremonial survivals 

 hark back to the older and better days. Such a regression is perfectly 

 in keeping with the contemporary history of the area : increased pres- 

 sure from hostile tribes, growing commercial intercourse and terri- 

 torial quarrels with the whites, new diseases, and a generally more 

 desperate struggle for sheer existence, all of which left scant 

 leisure for cultural advancement. 



The leads for future research on this problem are very clear. 

 It is imperative first of all that thorough analyses be made of all 

 available archeological materials from sites of the Lower Loup Focus. 

 These should be carefully compared with similarly detailed studies of 

 collections and data from documented sites of the nineteenth century. 

 Needless to say, identities are not to be expected in all details, since 

 individual, village, and probably band preferences were undoubtedly 

 active factors. The element of time, too, must ever be borne in mind, 

 for over a period of two or three centuries considerable changes are 

 expectable. Another line of attack which has so far been totally 



' Grinnell, op. cit., pp. 358-359- 



