Nanza is the

Ponca The Ponca ( Páⁿka iyé: Páⁿka or Ppáⁿkka pronounced ) are a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca ...

name for what is now called Ponca Fort. It was a fortified village built by the Ponca in the vicinity of present-day

Niobrara, Nebraska Niobrara (; Omaha: ''Ní Ubthátha'' ''Tʰáⁿwaⁿgthaⁿ'' , meaning "water spread-out village")Dorsey, James Owen (1890)''The Cegiha Language: Contributions to North American Ethnology'' 4. Washington: US Department of the Interior: Governmen ...

, USA, in circa 1700 and occupied until about 1865. The site of Nanza is located at the fork where Ponca Creek meets the Niobrara River, west of the Niobrara River's entry into the Missouri River. It is located in what is now Knox County, Nebraska, near the town of Verdel. Nanza was a principal settlement for the Ponca and was built to protect the Ponca against the

Arikaras Arikara (), also known as Sahnish,
''Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation.'' (Retrieved Sep 29, 2011)

Cheyennes The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enrol ...

or Apaches. It contained earth lodges and was surrounded by several

cemeteries A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

, probably created during disease outbreaks after European contact. Today Ponca Fort lies on private property. The site is renowned among

archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

for its resemblance to

Middle Mississippian Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek (d ...

fortified towns found in Ohio which date from 800 through 1550. Nanza comprises numerous earth lodge sites encircled by a protective wall perhaps six feet high. Today the fortification is still visible. Archeological excavations have determined there was originally a ditch three feet deep and ten feet wide surrounding the berm. An earth embankment supporting a post

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade' ...

was discovered inside the ditch. Guns, hatchets, knives, beads, kettles, cloth and other European goods have been recovered from Ponca Fort, and serve as a testimony to the village's important position in the local fur trade. There is also evidence of extensive trade with other tribes. Pottery, stone mauls, mealing slabs and maulers, bone knives, hoes, tubes, shaft wrenches and picks, and strip bark in rolls from as far away as the Southeastern United States. On April 3, 1973, the Ponca Fort was added to the National Register of Historic Places.National Register in Knox County - Nebraska
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References

Missouri River 1700 establishments in North America Buildings and structures in Knox County, Nebraska

Archaeological sites in Nebraska This is a listing of sites of archaeological interest in the state of Nebraska, in the United States. {{Commons cat, Archaeological sites in Nebraska Archaeology of the Great Plains Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region ...

Pre-statehood history of Nebraska Native American history of Nebraska Ponca {{US-hist-stub

See also

References