NO. lO NEBRASKA ARCHEOLOGY STRONG 27! 



inadequately defined, and of none can it be said that it is known in 

 full detail. That still other cultures remain to be added to this record 

 is indicated by numerous unclassified archeological sites, many of 

 which have been mentioned. The occurrence of artifacts associated 

 with various extinct species of bison at Cumro, Grand Island, Spring 

 Creek, and possibly Bird Creek has been mentioned. In each of these 

 finds, however, the artifact content has been too limited to do more 

 than suggest cultural af^liations. The true Folsom culture, revealed 

 at the Lindenmeier site in northeastern Colorado, has not yet (1935) 

 been encountered in situ in Nebraska. 



CULTURE SEQUENCE AND DEVELOPMENT IN NEBRASKA 



So far there have been four primary methods of establishing culture 

 sequence in Nebraska, the first based upon the degree of European 

 contact exhibited in aboriginal sites ; the second upon the super- 

 imposition of culture layers, or stratification ; the third upon the as- 

 sociation of distinct types of artifacts with extinct animal species ; 

 and the fourth upon the occurrence of artifacts in deposits of de- 

 terminable geologic age. The first of these permits a division of con- 

 tact sites into historic, i. e., documented, and protohistoric sites which 

 show evidences of white contact but are not recorded in the annals of 

 exploration. In general, such protohistoric sites are older than the 

 historic sites, and in a few cases their relative age can be determined 

 by the fact that they contain a few white trade articles but no horse 

 remains. Prehistoric sites that show no evidences of any such alien 

 contact are still older. The value of stratification in determining se- 

 quence is obvious, and in this regard we are fortunate in having two 

 prehistoric stratified sites strategically located in extreme eastern 

 and western Nebraska. The third method, i. e., the association of 

 definite artifacts with extinct fauna, has been a much emphasized 

 development of the last few years. Unfortunately, the uncertainty 

 which as yet exists concerning even the relative time of extinction 

 of many animal species has made this method of dating unsatisfactory. 

 In final analysis objective dating of such associations must rest upon 

 the fourth method of determining time sequence, i. e., their occur- 

 rence in horizons of known or determinable geologic age. Dendro- 

 chronology and fossil pollen analyses, which have recently been found 

 to be applicable in parts of the Mississippi valley, may prove highly 

 valuable in portions of the Great Plains as well. Methods of deter- 

 mining the finer time periods in the North American Recent and 

 Pleistocene periods are still in an experimental stage, and on their 



