The territory claimed by the Osage at its greatest influence was vast and consisted of what is now southern Missouri, Arkansas, eastern Kansas, and Oklahoma.

Artifacts such as pottery, weapons, and tools excavated from the site have provided information about the daily lives of the villagers.

The men hunted game and traded with the Europeans for furs in exchange for guns and goods.

Throughout the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Osage Indians accounted for more than half the entire European-American fur trade along the Missouri River.

After the United States government took control of the Louisiana Purchase territory in 1804, its settlement policies encouraged European Americans to come into the area.