NO. 10 NEBRASKA ARCHEOLOGY STRONG 2O7 



historic Pawnee sites of central Nebraska, although devoid of burial 

 mounds, are (or were) marked by earthworks for defense and may 

 have had a few small ceremonial enclosures. The ethnographic data, 

 then, indicate that along the Missouri River strip occupied by seden- 

 tary Siouan tribes burial mounds would be expectable but larger earth- 

 works generally lacking, whereas in central Nebraska the Pawnee were 

 without true burial mounds but erected sod walls of circumvallation. 



Coming to the archeological aspects of the problem, we have al- 

 ready quoted Clark's comments on burial mounds in southeastern and 

 east-central Nebraska. To show that his conclusion concerning the 

 artificial nature and mortuary purpose of the mound near the mouth 

 of the Nemaha River w-as correct, we have already cited Zimmerman 

 (1918). Sterns (1915 a) also concurs in this opinion. Shetrone 

 ( 1930) states that the mounds of eastern Nebraska are " mostly low 

 house mounds ". The only confirmation I can find for this statement 

 is the opinion of Jones (1892), who furnishes few specific data, and 

 brief mention by Gilder (1907) of two low mounds north of Omaha 

 containing hearths, some cultural debris, and both human and animal 

 bones. Otherwise the recorded data overwhelmingly indicate that in 

 eastern Nebraska the elevations or mounds contain human skeletal 

 remains, whereas aboriginal house sites are marked by pits or de- 

 pressions. We can thus for the present eliminate house mounds from 

 the problem so far as the " mound area " of eastern Nebraska is 

 concerned. 



If the presence of human bones in marked elevations proved that 

 the latter were artificial mounds, there would-be no problem, for such 

 occurrences are common. However, a mound artificially erected, 

 when carefully excavated, should reveal soil differences between the 

 base or natural ground level and the subsequently added material. 

 It is in this regard that the Nebraska evidence is most contradictory 

 or entirely lacking. 



The discussion of the Long's Hill excavations pointed this out. All 

 the investigators, Gilder, Osborn, Barbour, Hrdlicka, Shimek, and 

 Fowke, seem to agree that there was an artificial mound here, but 

 aside from such statements there is little evidence on record by which 

 a later investigator might form his own opinion. The occurrence of 

 the baked earth strata reported by Gilder is the most convincing testi- 

 mony in this regard ; otherwise it would seem equally probable that a 

 natural elevation on the crest of a ridge had been used for burial 

 purposes over a long period of time. Gilder (1911 a) reports the 

 excavation of 26 mounds in the immediate vicinity of Long's Hill, 

 all apparently marked by a burned earth area on which the human 



