The Leary Site (25RH1)
is an archaeological site located in the southeast corner of Nebraska.
Extreme closeup of an incised image of
a bird or spirit creature incised on a broken piece of Catlinite.
Broken piece of Catlinite with an incised image of a
bird or
spirit creature (right edge). Weight 9.5 grams.
Originally diameter of approximately 5.0 cm. Thickness is 0.7 cm.
Broken piece of Catlinite with an incised image of
a bird or spirit creature. Weight
7.4 grams. Original diameter approximately 8.2 cm. Thickness 0.6 cm.
Extreme closeup of a
broken piece of Catlinite with an incised image
of a bison skull.
Fragment of Catlinite with an incised image
of a bison skull. Weight 85.9 grams. Size 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.3 cm.
Small pendant with two drilled holes made
from Catlinite.
Weight 7.9 grams. Diameter 3.1 cm. Thickness 0.5 cm.
Fragment of a broken catlinite pipe or
plaque with incised line decoration.
Weight 9.5 grams.
Estimated original diameter 7.5 cm. Thickness 0.6 cm.
Catlinite pipe. Weight
16.8 grams. Stem 5.3 x 1.3 stem. Disk diameter
2.5 cm. Bowl diameter 1.1 cm.
Unfinished Catlinite pipe.
Weight 9.3 grams. Stem size 3.9 x 1.3 cm. Disk diameter 1.5 cm.
Diameter bowl 0.9 cm.
Faceted piece of hematite (iron ore).
Weight 63.9 grams. Size
6.0 x 4.2 x 1.4 cm.
Bent brass tinkler acquired from French
traders. Weight 5.1 grams. Size 6.3 x 0.8 x 0.7 cm.
Brass tinkler acquired from French traders.
Size 1.3 grams. Size 4.0 x 0.5 x 0.4 cm.
Click here to see a small sample of pottery from the Leary Site
Click here to see a small sample of stone tools from the Leary Site
Click here to see a small sample of bone and shell artifacts from the Leary Site
Michael Fisher, President Emeritus of the Missouri Archaeological Society,
carefully recorded surface finds from the site during the period 1960 through 1980. Prof. Michael Fuller
(St. Louis Community College) studied a small portion of his collection during June of 2004.
The 150 acre village site and has been proposed
as an ancestral village to the Oto tribe. On the otherhand,
Dorsey
reports that "when the [Pawnee] people were first put on earth they were placed near what is now
Nemaha, Nebraska." Today, the site is owned and protected by the Iowa tribe. They do not allow
visitors to the site.
Lewis and Clark visited the abandoned village during the journey upriver. A few contact era trade
items have been discovered at the site. The site is located near the modern city of St. Joseph, MO.
Click here to read a National Park Service webpage about the Leary Site.
References:
Dorsey, George
1997 Pawnee Mythology. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. (reprint of an older edition)
Hill, A. T. and Waldo Wedel
1936 Excavations at the Leary Indian Village and Burial Site, Richardson Counnty, Nebraska.
Nebraska History Magazine 17(1): 3-73.
Strong, William Duncan
1935 An Introduction to Nebraska Archaeology. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 93(10):41.
Waldo, Wedel
1959 An Introduction to Kansas Archaeology. BAE 174:98- 171.
Webpage created 1 September 2004