NO. 10 NEBRASKA ARCHEOLOGY STRONG 57 



ficially investigated, we will confine the immediate discussion to the 

 Pawnee culture of about 1800, as revealed by our own excavations and 

 Mr. Hill's work in these two sites. It may be added that the Hill site 

 was occupied by members of the Kitkehahki or Republican Pawnee 

 tribe while the Lin wood site was occupied by the Chaui or Grand 

 Pawnee tribe. So far no distinction has been observed in archeological 

 remains pertaining to the different Pawnee tribes. Although more 

 detailed investigation may reveal new criteria in this regard, our own 

 investigations indicate very close cultural uniformity for all these 

 groups in the historic period. 



In briefest outline the salient characteristics of Pawnee culture at 

 the close of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth cen- 

 turies, as revealed by archeology, are as follows. The five earth lodges 

 opened at these two sites had been very slightly excavated below 

 ground level, 20 inches being the deepest, and all of them were per- 

 fectly round, ranging from 20 to 45 feet in diameter. The central posts 

 ranged in number from four (one house) to eight (two houses had six 

 center posts, two had eight). The outer circle of posts ranged in num- 

 ber from 13 to 18, with an average of 12. Four houses had only one 

 central fireplace, and one had two fireplaces. This second fireplace was 

 immediately opposite the doorway, where the shrine is often located. 

 One earth altar or shrine in this location was found. Entrance pas- 

 sageways about 12 feet long and 4 to 7 feet broad lead from the south 

 or east side of the houses. There appeared to be no exact orientation 

 in this regard. Three houses had no interior or exterior cache or 

 storage pits, one house had four interior caches, and six were located 

 outside the walls. The fifth house had one interior cache located 

 between the fireplace and shrine and in line with the entrance passage. 

 Such storage pits, therefore, occur both inside and outside the houses. 

 They are usually cylindrical, being slightly wider at the bottom than at 

 the top, with a flat floor. They range from 3 to 11 feet in depth, 4 to 5 

 feet being usual, and are often lined with decayed bark or white sand. 

 Ashy soil containing much debris fills the majority of these pits, 

 artifacts are rather rare, and the pits appear to have served mainly for 

 storing corn. 



At the present time earthworks in connection with the sites are rare, 

 owing mainly to the many years of plowing to which the majority of 

 the villages have been subjected. Sections of the old sod walls are pre- 

 served solely at the Horse Creek site in Nance County. There is no 

 concrete evidence at present that palisades were in use. An interesting 

 bit of evidence uncovered at the Hill site was a rectangular hard- 



