Sedentism and pre-contact tribal organization on the northern plains: colonial imposition or indigenous development?

Abstract

This paper explores the influence of sedentary and semi-sedentary ‘tribally’ organized Eastern Woodlands and Middle Missouri horticultural villagers on Canadian plains hunter-gatherer social organization during the millennium prior to European contact. So-called tribal organization of Canadian plains bison hunters has been suggested to have been caused by the acquisition of domesticated horses from Europeans, which enabled the ritualized mass killing of bison, large group size and a more complex material culture. That is, the complex culture of plains groups at the time of European contact is held to be the result of that contact. It is clear, however, that the material culture correlates of semi-sedentism, complexity and tribal social organization begin to appear in the archaeological record of the Canadian plains with the development of horticultural villages to the south and east, and the appearance of certain aspects of village material culture (primarily specific types of pottery and lithic raw materials) in Canadian plains archaeological assemblages well prior to any European influence. Expansion of horticulture slowed dramatically upon encountering the plains peoples who, I suggest, adopted certain aspects of the culture of their horticultural neighbours and sometime invaders, including a segmentary tribal social organization, sodalities and limited use of traded horticultural products, primarily maize. By adopting a communal bison-hunting subsistence system that included the construction of gathering facilities such as pounds and jumps, people were able to increase their food production capabilities while reinforcing their tribal social structure. These cultural changes would have occurred as a result of resistance to the expansion of apparently aggressive horticultural neighbours combined with acculturation to a changing world system of food production. The complex culture of Canadian plains peoples appeared well prior to the appearance of Europeans and is an indigenous development.