NO. lO NEBRASKA ARCHEOLOGY STRONG 255 



Southern sites, whereas in Northern sites the majority are thus deco- 

 rated. The Central B group agrees in this regard with the Northern 

 group, whereas Central A is intermediate between Northern and 

 Southern. Finger markings predominate in such decoration at North- 

 ern sites, incisions at Southern sites. 



Unfortunately, the material obtained by the Survey was studied 

 prior to the examination of Sterns' manuscript ; hence entirely com- 

 parable statistics are lacking. Nevertheless, since the Gates site is in 

 Sterns' Central B area and the Rock Bluffs site in or close to his 

 Southern area, it is possible to compare them. The rim types ob- 

 tained by the Survey coincide with Sterns' classification rather well ; 

 the Southern (Rock Bluffs) site has a predominance of vertically 

 perforated lugs in spite of a smaller representation of pottery than 

 has the Central B (Gates) site. In the marked scarcity of horizontally 

 perforated lugs and the relative scarcity of unperforated lugs at both 

 sites they fall in with Sterns' Central and Southern types. Since 

 finger-marked and incised rims are in a minority at both the above 

 sites, they also agree with Sterns' Central and Southern types in this 

 regard. Thus, so far as the limited Survey collections are concerned. 

 Sterns' typological distinctions seem justified. 



The considerable range and large number of known Nebraska 

 culture sites, combined with the regional variations pointed out by 

 Sterns, give definite promise of either tracing out the development of 

 the culture in situ or of tracing the direction from which it reached 

 eastern Nebraska. Although hundreds of these sites, especially in the 

 neighborhood of Omaha, have been unsystematically looted, it is pos- 

 sible that careful excavation of the remainder with subsequent detailed 

 analysis of their entire ceramic content will go far in elucidating this 

 problem so well begun by Sterns. 



An interesting and significant point which must be mentioned before 

 leaving the subject of Nebraska culture pottery is the matter of in- 

 trusive vessels and sherds found in such sites. Both Gilder and Sterns 

 report the discovery in numerous sites pertaining to the Nebraska 

 culture of limited amounts of dark, often shell-tempered and beauti- 

 fully incised sherds, a ware contrasting markedly with the usual run 

 of ceramics at these sites."" In the Nebraska culture sites excavated 



"" Sterns, 1915 a, and Gilder, 1926, p. 32. The latter authority in his papers 

 of 1907, 1909, 1913, and 1926 illustrates a large number of rim sherds, mostly 

 from the Omaha region and of the Nebraska culture type. Many of these 

 intrusive types are also shown. However, since these plates figure so many 

 types of rims rare or lacking in the collections obtained by Sterns or by the 

 Survey, with no data on their exact provenience, I have not felt safe in using 

 this material for comparative purposes. 



