NO. lO NEBRASKA ARCHEOLOGY — STRONG 297 



cultures. From the standpoint of our immediate area this occurrence 

 of a period of as yet undetermined duration in which horticulture 

 was at least as important as hunting is surprising. Instead of being 

 confined to a narrow strip along the Missouri River in late prehis- 

 toric or early historic times, it now appears that this type of life 

 flourished for a considerable period in strictly pre-Columbian times 

 over an area extending some 400 miles west of the Missouri in 

 Nebraska and 200 miles west of that river in South Dakota. At 

 least, evidences of this cultural type have been found as far west as 

 Scottsbluff in the first State and the Ludlow cave in the second. 

 Finally, from the distribution of sites pertaining to the Nebraska 

 and Upper Republican cultures along the waterways of the region, 

 it would seem that the southeastern culture influences had followed up 

 the rivers and streams into the north-central plains. The lack of any 

 southwestern or early Pueblo influences, on the other hand, is marked, 

 and it appears that prior to the acquisition of the horse the barren 

 high plains to the west and staked plains to the south formed defi- 

 nite barriers between these regions. 



The protohistoric period in the central plains, if one may judge 

 from the Pawnee, who are the only group so far reported on in this 

 regard, saw a blossoming out of this earlier culture. It is at this 

 time that the largest villages were built and the most highly developed 

 material culture was attained. Lured on by fabulous tales of golden 

 cities, the Spaniards may have looked with disdain upon the towns 

 of Quivira and the warriors of Harahey, but they evidently met a 

 people considerably more advanced in cultural status than were the 

 Wichita and Pawnee tribes a few generations later. The causes 

 leading to the florescence of Pawnee culture in protohistoric times 

 may become clear only when more work has been done in the region, 

 but it can hardly be doubted that the downfall of the culture began 

 when the horse was introduced into the Plains. Few facts are more 

 striking in Pawnee archeology than the inverse ratio that exists be- 

 tween the abundance of horse remains and the degree of excellence 

 as well as abundance of pottery and other artifacts in such sites. 

 This is easily seen by comparing the ceramics from the Burkett and 

 Schuyler sites (pis. 2 and 3), where no horse remains have been 

 reported and those from the Hill site (pi. i, fig.i) where horse bones 

 and riding gear were abundant. To some tribes the coming of the 

 horse may have brought cultural advancement but it can hardly be 

 doubted that to the Pawnee it brought definite retrogression. 



Thus the historic period, again to judge from the Pawnee record, 

 saw a falling away from old standards and pursuits. The horticultural. 



