Anthropology, Department of
Department of Anthropology: Theses
First Advisor
Douglas Scott
Date of this Version
7-2012
Document Type
Thesis
Citation
A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts
Major: Anthropology
Under the supervision of Professor Douglas Scott
Lincoln, Nebraska, July 2012
Abstract
The standardized practices and closed context of burials has created an excellent opportunity to observe social change among the Pawnee over time. The Proto-historic Period and Historic Period on the Plains are marked by external trade with Euro-Americans, requiring adaptation among Plains tribes to trade goods from the east. External and internal economies were altered by this trade. Levels of material wealth changed dramatically during these two periods. The purpose of this research is to gauge economic changes that occurred, and, if possible, make determinations based on ethnohistorical data as to why these changes transpired. Additionally, it may be possible to correlate mortality rates to known mass historic traumas; observe changes in cosmology; and observe other larger social changes as reflected by mortuary context. Multivariate comparisons of mortuary attributes at three Pawnee sites that span the Prehistoric, Proto-historic, and Historic Periods will be conducted utilizing SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) to achieve these goals.
Adviser: Douglas Scott
Comments
Copyright (c) 2012, Amanda F. Callahan-Mims