86 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



historical fact that in early contact times the western Plains were in- 

 habited by Apache and Comanche bands, some of whom appear to 

 have followed a semihorticultural mode of life. 



Just outside the north entrance to the park a small burial ground, 

 probably much older than the above remains, yielded two long- 

 headed skeletons and several secondary (or disturbed ?) interments 

 (fig. 90). With the skeletons were broken tortoise shells, tubular 

 bone beads, and chipped flints, including one heavy-stemmed arrow- 

 point of Woodland type. Persistent search failed to disclose any evi- 

 dence of an associated village or camp site. 



About 20 miles east, on Salt Creek in Lane County, remains of 

 different type were found. On and just below the surface of one 

 site (fig. 91) were materials attributable to the Upper Republican 

 culture of southern Nebraska. Two small pit houses, each with four 

 center posts, were worked out (fig. 92). Along with shallow middens 

 nearby, they yielded typical pottery, arrowpoints, a bone fishhook, 

 etc., but no direct proof of horticulture. Separated from this deposit 

 by a barren stratum up to a foot thick was a second cultural layer. 

 From this came thick cord-roughened sherds and large-stemmed 

 arrowpoints markedly unlike the top layer materials. This second 

 horizon, evidently linked with some Plains Woodland manifestation, 

 had been intruded by both pit houses. Beneath one of the latter, in- 

 clusive in the Woodland horizon, was a rocker-marked sherd similar 

 to those found in 1937 at Hopewellian village sites near Kansas City. 

 Lack of time precluded investigation of what may be a third cultural 

 horizon underlying both of the above. Local collectors report the 

 finding of Pawnee as well as of shell-tempered sherds, together with 

 copper, glass beads, and catlinite on the wind-eroded surface. Two 

 other sites tested in Lane County evidenced a similar stratification of 

 Upper Republican over Woodland remains. Because of the limited 

 occurrence of permanent springs in the High Plains and the resultant 

 repeated use of desirable locations by successive peoples, I suspect 

 still others could be found. 



Tentatively summarized, these researches seem to show that in 

 Lane and Scott Counties there were at least two groups of prehistoric 

 pottery-making peoples. On stratigraphic grounds those bearing a 

 Woodland culture preceded others with Upper Republican affilia- 

 tions ; neither appears to have been in contact with Southwestern 

 peoples. Still later, in protohistoric times, a third complex assignable 

 to the Dismal River culture, occupied the area. This sequence parallels 

 that in western Nebraska and adds materially to the geographic range 

 of the cultures involved. 



