Two burials from a mound in central South Dakota are considered to be Arik ara from a group ance stral to the Arikara, on the basis of observations and meas urements. The Strieker Site, 39LM1, at the mouth of Medicine Creek in Lyman Coun ty, South Dakota, was excavated in the summer of 1959 by an archaeological party from the University of Kansas Mu seum of Natural History directed by Dr. Carlyle S. Smith and working under a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service. During the excavation, seven consecutive five-foot squares were cut across a mound (designated 39LMZZ7) located on the southern crest of a bluff overlooking the village. Two superim posed burials were recovered from the mound. Burial 1 occurred at a depth of 30. 5 inches; Burial Z, at 49 inches from the surface. Burial 1 had a projectile point of the type usually associated with the Over Focus, lying near the pelvic region (Fig. 3). Burial 1 was tightly flexed, remains buried on the back with the legs folded to the left. Burial Z was less tightly flexed with the lower legs bent at the knees and the upper legs less tightly drawn up. The body had been placed on the right side with the face tilted to the left and looking upward. Mr. BertSalwen (1962), the assistant party chief, states, "There was differ ence of opinion as to whether or not the outlines of an intrusive pit were visible above the two burials." Thus, we do not know whether these burials were intru sive into the mound from some later cul tural period or were original interments when the mound was built. Analysis of Skeletal Material The human skeletal material was stud ied in the fall of 1962. The analysis indi cates that both individuals were middle aged adult males (Tables 1 and 2). Burial 1 (See Fig. la-d) Sex: Male Age: 25-35 Stature: 5?11" + 1 1/3" (180.29 cm. +_ 3. 38 cm.) Sex determination is based on anthro pometric and morphological features of both the cranial and post-cranial skele ton. The innominates have narrow sci atic notches and short pubes. The max imum diameter of 50 mm. for the heads of the femur and humerus is well above the male range for this measurement (Krogman 1962:143-146). Morphological features of the skull are consistent with the post-cranial skeleton. Age determination is based on the pu bic symphysis. The oval outline of the face is essentially complete and there is zo This content downloaded from 157.55.39.124 on Wed, 20 Jul 2016 04:18:20 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms no lipping of the symphyseal margin. The dorsal demiface exhibits only slight billowing, with the dorsal plateau com pletely formed. The ventral rampart has not yet begun to form, but beveling is present along the superior ventral margin. On the basis of Todd's phase s of sym physeal change, the symphysis best cor responds to Phase V and VI, which has an age range of 27-35 years (Krogman 1962:92-93). Using McKern and Stewart's system, the age range is 22-28 with an average age of 24. 14 +_ 1. 93 (McKern and Stewart 1957:53-88). The stature was calculated from the length of the left tibia plus the femur, us ing Trotter and Gleser's formula for Mongoloids. (Trotter and Gleser 1958: 120). The skeleton of this individual is com plete. Osteoarthritic lipping occurs on the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh thoracic vertebrae, and also on the third, fourth and fifth lumbar. The fifth lumbar vertebra contains a separate neural arch. There is a bilateral break in the continuity of the neural arch be tween the inferior and superior articular processes. According to Stewart (1931: 61) this condition is much more promi nent in Mongoloids than in any other pop ulation. In a study of 350 Alaskan Eski mos, he found this condition in 27. 4 per cent of the total population, occurring 29. 5 percent for males and 25. 1 percent in females. It occurred in only 6. 4 per cent of a white sample and 2. 8 percent of an American Negro sample. The right tibia shows a bulbous swell ing or osteitis of the midshaft. This swelling measures 95 mm. longitudinally, and 20 mm. in width. The condition may be due to syphilis, although as Stewart has pointed out, the incidence of pre colombian syphilis is relatively rare and these symptoms in an isolated bone do not constitute proof of the presence of this disease (Stewart 1940:46). The cranium is in good condition. All mandibular teeth are present, and only the left central incisor and the right lateral and central incisors are missing post-mortem. Tooth wear is a stage two (molar cusps worn off) according to Hrdlicka1 s (1952:53) classification sys tem. There are no carie s pre sent in the dentition, but a slight case of tartar is present on both the lingual and buccal borders. Burial 2 (See Fig. 2a-d) Sex: Male Age: 35+ Stature: 5'7 1/2"+ 1 3/8" (171.63 cm. + 3.51 cm.) Sex determination was based on the same anthropometric and morphological data as Burial 1. The innominates have narrow, deep sciatic notches, and short pubes. The maximum diameters of 48 mm. and 45 mm. for the heads of the fe mur and humerus re spectively, are above the mean for males (Krogman 1962:143 146). The skull also has distinct male morphological characteristics, such as heavy brow ridges, strong muscle mark ing and general ruggedness. Note the extreme width of the zygomatic arch (Fig. 2c). The age of the individual wa^s deter mined on the basis of the pubic symphy sis and suture closure of the skull. As both symphyseal faces were badly eroded an accurate determination of age from them was difficult to make. There is, however, prominent lipping on both dor sal and ventral margins and the rampart is beginning to form. It seems to cor respond best to stage VI of Todd's sys tem,, giving an age of 30-35 (Krogman 1962:92-93). According to McKern and Stewart's system, a formula of 1-4, II-3, III-4 can be applied. This gives a total score of 11, yielding an age range of 23-39, with a mean age of 29. 18 +_ 3. 33. The suture closure of this individual is consistent with his advanced age. The coronal suture is almost obliterated and