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Central Plains Villages

Sites Reveal Changing Ways

Lime Creek Site: A Glimpse of Early Native Americans on Nebraska's Landscape

Excavations at the Lime Creek site, 1947
Courtesy of Douglas Bamforth and the University of Nebraska State Museum

9000 to 7000 Years Ago: Nebraska’s First People

The objects from this site were made by some of Nebraska’s first known people: the Paleo-Indian people.

The site is located in southern Nebraska’s Frontier County. Learn more about them in the Activities and Resources.

Various projectile points from the Lime Creek Site, 1993.

Various projectile points from the Lime Creek Site, 1993.
Courtesy of Keri Hicks, Douglas Bamforth and the University of Nebraska State Museum

The Schultz Site: Beginnings of Pottery in Nebraska

Excavators uncovering a house floor in 1939
Courtesy University of Nebraska State Museum

Various pots from the Schultz site
Courtesy University of Nebraska State Museum

Artifacts from the Schultz site
Courtesy University of Nebraska State Museum

2000 to 1500 Years Ago: Ancient Pottery

Ancient pottery intrigues us. The shapes and sizes tell us about the people who formed the pots and about their daily lives: fetching water, cooking dinner, storing food for the long winter.

In this archaeological site, some of the earliest pottery in Nebraska has been found. In the Teacher Activities below, learn how archaeologists used the fragments of these ancient objects to understand the lives of people in central Nebraska’s Valley County some 2000 to 1500 years ago.

Map of features found at the Schultz site.

Map of features found at the Schultz site.
Courtesy University of Nebraska State Museum

The Arner Site: Prairies of Western NE

Today’s Nebraska Badlands
Courtesy UNL Department of Anthropology

Ancient pit hearth with cobbles, seen from side
Courtesy UNL Department of Anthropology

1800 to 1100 Years Ago: Life on the Prairies

Out on the prairies of Western Nebraska, nearly 1,800 to 1,200 years ago, the land was wetter.
The ancient people who called this place home used the land and the wild plants they found there to live. There was more to life on the ancient prairies than hunting bison! Learn about Nebraska’s changing landscape in this site from western Nebraska’s Oglalla National Grasslands in the Teacher Activities button below.

Diagram of a reconstructed pit hearth.

Diagram of a reconstructed pit hearth.
Courtesy UNL Department of Anthropology

Patterson Site: Prehistoric Farm Families

An aerial view of the Patterson site
Courtesy Nebraska State Historical Society

A pithouse floor after excavation
Courtesy Nebraska State Historical Society

Assorted pottery unearthed at the Patterson site
Courtesy Nebraska State Historical Society

Stone tools from the Patterson site
Courtesy Nebraska State Historical Society

1000 to 600 Years Ago: Farm Families

In east central Nebraska’s Sarpy County, some of Nebraska’s ancient farming families made their home.

In the Activities and Lesson Plans, students will study the remains of their houses and the objects they used. They will learn to study these ancient objects to understand the daily lives of ancient families.

An artist’s drawing of a pithouse

An artist’s drawing of a pithouse
Courtesy Nebraska State Historical Society

New Lesson Plans coming soon.

Sites Reveal Changing Ways

Lime Creek Site: A Glimpse of Early Native Americans on Nebraska's Landscape

Various projectile points from the Lime Creek Site, 1993. Courtesy of Keri Hicks, Douglas Bamforth and the University of Nebraska State Museum