Introduction

There is an apocryphal story about a famous archaeologist who was excavating an Arikara graveyard. Based on previous work, he believed that the Arikara interred the dead in a systematic manner. He suggested that graves were located in a pattern analogous to a checkerboard. Excavating every third square produced nothing for the entire season. The archaeologist was frustrated. During the last day, a crew member suggested they excavate a unit that was not part of this predetermined pattern. Digging one square to the south of their previous excavations they found a grave with a plethora of funeral offerings. The following season, they excavated the same pattern. By lagging the pattern one square to the south they found a grave in each square.

The story illustrates two important aspects of cognitive archaeology. First, the material culture mediates between the archaeologist's cognition and the cognition of the prehistoric native. Second, the material culture reconciles the past to the present.

Originally, the archaeologist believed he knew the organizing principles that the Arikara were using. As the season progressed, he became convinced that he was mistaken. During the second season, he was reassured that he was correct. The archaeological and the native view of spatial organization appeared to correspond although they were separated by cultural differences and five long centuries. Both parties agreed that the inhabitants of the city of the dead had abodes approximately nine metres apart.