Nebraska State Historical Society
Date of this Version
1938
Citation
Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, v 97, no. 7;
Abstract
The direct-historical approach in archaeology assumes the existence of an analogous relationship between historic accounts and prehistoric data, serving to establish cultural identity under the basis of cultural continuity. In this article, Dr. Waldo Wedel uses the direct-historical approach to review some preliminary findings of archaeological investigations undertaken as part of an early effort to study the Pawnee culture of eastern Nebraska. The University of Nebraska Archeological Survey was established in 1929, led by Dr. W. D. Strong, in an attempt to better understand prehistoric Pawnee culture. Previous evidence existed in the form of A. T. Hill’s artifact collection and 19th century maps and narratives. After reviewing early archaeological work conducted at various Pawnee village sites, Wedel offers a comparison of traits in historic Pawnee, Lower Loup Focus, and Oneota Aspect material culture, looking for universal traits in archaeological remains from all sites. Analysis of the data reveals that the Lower Loup Focus has a greater number of parallels in terms of material traits to the historic Pawnee. Following a discussion on the presence of early European manufactured goods and evidence supporting the presence of Pawnee in the Platte-Loupe region, Wedel concludes that there exists a direct linkage between historic and protohistoric Pawnee traditions.
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Comments
1) The text digitized was loaned to the University of Nebraska Lincoln Libraries by the Michigan State University Libraries.
2) The six plates were digitized by the University of Illinois Libraries.