If the number of objects placed with a person when they died is a measure of their importance in the community, older people and men were generally more important in Oneota society. Objects used for daily activities such as hunting and tool making, and ritual objects were almost always buried with males who were between 25 and 50 years old when they died.

Archaeologists do not yet know if Oneota villages had one or more leaders. In fact, we do not yet completely understand how the society was organized outside of families. However, it is likely that the conflict these people were engaged in necessitated leaders to organize their defense.