NO. lO NEBRASKA ARCHEOLOGY — STRONG 295 



woodland culture of northeastern affiliations that occurs on the eastern 

 border as the earliest known occupation of this sort in Nebraska. 

 This was demonstrated by Sterns' discoveries at the Walker Gilmore 

 site, and the fact that the Sterns Creek culture is apparently related 

 to the "Algonkian " and Lake Michigan cultures of Iowa and Wiscon- 

 sin is undoubtedly significant. It is too early to tell how strong the 

 correlations between these prehistoric cultures and those of the his- 

 toric Algonkian tribes may be, but they are at least suggested. All 

 that can be said at present is that a culture, possibly Algonkian, and 

 of northeastern woodland type is the earliest known horizon with 

 pottery and cultivated plants (squash and gourds, but so far as known, 

 no maize) in our region, albeit on the extreme eastern border. What 

 contemporary cultures existed to the west in Nebraska at this time 

 are as yet unknown. 



Overlying this horizon in eastern Nebraska is the prehistoric Ne- 

 braska culture which extends over the rich glacial area later claimed 

 by Ponca, Omaha, Oto, and Kansa. Since the historic archeology of 

 these Siouan tribes is unknown, it is at present impossible to correlate 

 them with any of the prehistoric cultures. Nevertheless, since the 

 Nebraska culture is markedly different from that of the Pawnee in 

 any known period and also affiliates most closely with what are be- 

 lieved to be Siouan cultures in Iowa and Wisconsin, there is reason 

 to suspect that the Nebraska culture will prove to be Siouan in origin. 

 Considering the probable northwestward migration of such Siouan 

 tribes as the Dakota, Hidatsa, and Crow, it is possible that the Ne- 

 braska culture represents their movement northward along the Mis- 

 souri River. From the time of Catlin it has often been stated that 

 the prehistoric earth lodges along this river in Iowa and Nebraska 

 marked the northern migration route of the Mandan but there is 

 actually very little specific resemblance between the Nebraska cul- 

 ture remains and those of the Mandan, at least so far as the latter 

 have been reported on. The most promising prehistoric link with 

 the Mandan at present would seem to be the Mill Creek culture of 

 Iowa, but this lead awaits investigation both in Iowa and in the 

 Dakotas. Since even less is known at present concerning the early 

 historic or prehistoric culture of the Dakota, Hidatsa, or Crow, it 

 may seem even less justifiable to attempt to link the Nebraska cul- 

 ture to an utterly unknown quantity. Nevertheless, since the Dhegiha 

 and Chiwere Siouan tribes appear to have peacefully occupied the 

 eastern border of Nebraska within early historic times, it seems logi- 

 cal to suppose that their immediate predecessors in the region were 

 other related peoples who had pressed on to the north. That the 



