Recent Distortions of Ethnohistorical and Archaeological Data for the Arikaras and General Plains

Abstract

Orser's (1983) paper on Arikara mortuary procedures, in which he has used unsound ethnohistorical research to buttress shaky archaeological conclusions, betrays a general misunderstanding of ethnohistorical data. This article, which concerns itself with the interrelationships of archaeological and ethnohistorical data, reexamines Orser's analysis of Mackay's notes on Indians: 1) suggests that these notes (which Orser could only bracket to 1799–1822) were written by 1804; 2) shows that there is no reason to accept any of Orser's references pertaining to Arikara scaffold burial; 3) outlines why Orser's “ethnohistorical” research is unsound; and 4) shows how this unsound ethnohistory hampers the advance of knowledge of the Plains. In short, this article serves to caution scholars not well versed in Arikara and Plains data about the shortcomings of Orser's studies.