Abstract
Compared with late prehistoric archaeological sites attributed to the Wichita, protohistoric sites in Oklahoma contain artifact assemblages indicating that hide processing for trade with French voyageurs became a primary economic activity. Yet aside from assemblage changes, little is understood about how market demand for hides and other animal byproducts altered Wichita social organization, if at all. In this article we investigate polygyny. We examine the hypothesis that in household economies where production depends on women's contributions, market integration intensifies demand on female labor: Where polygyny is practiced, market integration increases the number of wives sought by males, leading to larger families. We compare ethnological data and Blackfoot accounts of polygyny with ethnohistorical and ethnographic information concerning the Wichita. We then review protohistoric Wichita documentary and archaeological data to discuss their strengths and weaknesses for. identifying these social and economic changes.
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