Bastions, Beads, Baptisms, and Burials: Evidence for Epidemic Disease among the Arikara and their Ancestors

Abstract

Native Americans suffered severe depopulation in the centuries after the first Europeans arrived. The timing, severity, and causes of this loss of life are less certain and the subject of continuing debate, particularly concerning the relative contribution of factors such as epidemic disease, warfare, and socioeconomic disruption. This paper reviews the historical, archaeological, and osteological evidence for epidemic-induced depopulation among Coalescent Tradition peoples living in earthlodge villages along the Missouri trench. Changes in the number, location, and structure of sites, as well as material culture alterations and burial data, support the hypothesis that epidemic disease, particularly smallpox, caused a severe demographic collapse that began as early as the 1600s.