Dismal River culture
| Geographical range | Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota. |
|---|---|
| Period | Post-Archaic |
| Dates | AD 1650-1750 |
| Type site | Lovitt Site in Dismal River area of Nebraska |
| Major sites | Scott County State Park (Kansas) |
| Preceded by | Archaic |
The Dismal River culture refers to a set of cultural attributes first seen in the Dismal River area of Nebraska in the 1930s by archaeologists William Duncan Strong, Waldo Rudolph Wedel and A. T. Hill. Also known as Dismal River aspect and Dismal River complex, dated between 1650-1750 A.D., is different from other prehistoric Central Plains and Woodland traditions of the western Plains. The Dismal River people are believed to have spoken an Athabascan language and to have been part of the people later known to Europeans as Apaches.
Dismal River culture sites have been found in Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado and South Dakota. 18 sites were located in Hayes, Hooker, Cherry, Thomas and Lincoln counties in the Sand Hills of Nebraska.
Notable sites include:
Other village cultures of the Western Plains include the Antelope Creek Phase, Apishapa culture, Purgatoire Phase and Upper Purgatoire complex.
The Apache evolved from the Athapascan who migrated onto the North American continent through the current state of Alaska and northwestern Canada. There are two theories about how the Apache ancestors migrated into the Plains and southwestern United States. They may have traveled through the mountains, staying in a climate that they were accustomed to, or they may have migrated along the plains. Their descendents, the Navajo and Apache, speak Athabaskan languages.
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