A depiction of the Hidatsa scalp dance, by artist Karl Bodmer
Evidence gathered from recent excavations of
Indian village sites on the upper Missouri river shows that the
Mandans were building strongly fortified buildings and villages,
and shards of pottery appearing in Mandan sites after 1550
indicated that the first Hidatsa groups, probably the Awatixa and
their close Mountain Crow relatives, reached the Missouri about
this time or a little later. Awatixa pottery and culture were
strongly influenced by the more numerous Mandan. for more, click here