...fort residents had window glass?

Hi everyone,

        During the open house, I found that a lot of people were interested in how the glass, specifically window pane fragments, found at the site were brought all the way from France to Michigan. They asked about how the glass arrived unbroken and how we knew that the glass wasn’t made on site.

Before I go any further, I want to tell you a little bit about the two types of glass we find on the site, bottle glass and window glass, so you understand the difference. Bottle glass is much thicker and often comes in shades of blue and green. Some of the bottle glass fragments we have recovered can be over a half of a centimeter thick, and so dark that it looks like a solid color until you hold it up to a light. Generally, the glass fragments will have some sort of curved aspect to them, however this isn't always the case. In comparison to bottle glass, window glass is extremely thin! There are pieces in the Fort St. Joseph collection that are just over a 1 millimeter thick. It is generally a light green color, but sometimes it can be more clear. 

        At the turn of the 18th century, France was undergoing an industry wide revolution in glass making techniques and abilities. For window panes, glass makers began to create  “plate glass” which was made by pouring glass into a mold. This glass could be made easily and quickly, but was of a much lower quality than blown glass. Window glass from the 17th and 18th century often has bubbles and impurities included in the glass, making it easy for us to identify when the glass was made. 

So how did the window glass get here without breaking? Well, It’s important to consider two things. First, windows were much smaller than they are today. Windows glass was a luxury item that not everybody would be able to afford, or even want to spend their money on. Small pieces of glass are significantly easier to transport than large modern windows, and don't require as much protection as you might expect. A blanket, a box with sand acting as packing material, or a hide could be used to protect the glass from impacts or debris. Second, most of the materials at the fort were transported almost entirely by ship and boat. At the time, this method of transportation would be significantly smoother and faster than any sort of overland transportation. The strategic location of Fort St. Joseph allowed easier transportation and access to the delicate glass. 

I hope this helped shed some light on how glass was delivered to the fort. Thanks for showing up to the site and Archaeology Open House this summer, and for continuing to support the Project!

Kieran

Did someone say ceramics...?

Hello, 

During our last week of excavation, Hollie and I had some cool finds in our unit, N10 E3, a couple of which were ceramic sherds. Both of these sherds (pictured left) have a white glaze as well as some decoration, one being just blue and white while the other also includes a brown/orange squiggle. While these are certainly not the first ceramic sherds discovered at Fort St. Joseph, they still constitute an interesting find.

Other significant ceramic sherds found at the site include a white faience sherd (below left) found at N6 E2 and a white saltglazed sherd (below right) found at S2 W6. There have been a number of tiny pieces of faience found throughout the site as well.    
            

While an analysis of excavated ceramics has not yet been done, we do have information on ceramics found before excavations began, as well as data for Fort Michilimackinac. The ceramics fall into several categories, each with multiple subcategories. In both this data and the data for Fort Michilimackinac, earthenware, particularly white and blue ceramic, was most common. Stoneware, such as the saltglazed sherd that was found here, was much less common. The ceramic sherds we found in our unit seem to be blue and white French faience as well as blue and buff polychrome. 

Ceramics can provide lots of useful information about our site. They can give us an insight into many different areas, such as the presence or absence of class, social status, or other differences, trade patterns, or even what people are eating and drinking. They can also be used to date the site. Even though ceramic artifacts are not nearly as common as other artifacts like bone or seed beads, they play a very important role in furthering our understanding of what life was like at Fort St. Joseph.

Thanks for reading!

Emma

Fin. The end.

A letter to all the Fort Followers,

August 11th marked the final day of the WMU field school excavation work at Fort St. Joseph. Everyone has worked extremely hard through insane heat, long days, and the occasional downpour. We shoveled and troweled our way from 21st century Niles, Michigan to 18th century New France. We cleaned and sorted every artifact recovered from the site; each expanding our knowledge of the day-to-day activities of those once lived there. And along the way, we have made friends while hopefully gaining some insight into fort occupants. 

Over the course of the last month, we learned the importance of public archaeology and the impact that has on the Project. The public is the driving factor, and without the public, the story of Fort St. Joseph may never have been told. We strive to inform the community of the work we have done, and continue to do, to promote an understanding of the fort and its residents as well as to increase public interest. These public outreach opportunities not only help inform the local community but also help reinforce the knowledge gained by the students. It is through these interactions that Fort St. Joseph will be remembered as we strive to expand public knowledge of not only the fort, but of the processes that archaeologists use to uncover the past. 

The importance of the field school cannot be overstated. Through the field school, students learn the methods necessary to paint such pictures. We also learn that careful preservation and historical research that can help us do our part to save the past for future generations. We are now able to employ our skills  as we transition from students to professionals in the field of anthropology and archaeology. 

I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in the field school and I am overwhelmed by the support and interest that the city of Niles and the public have shown in our findings, it really makes everything worthwhile. I will look back on this experience with fondness and pride because of how my work played a small part in telling the story of Fort St. Joseph.

While the dig season may have closed, the lab season is just beginning. 

John

Fabulous Features

Hey Fort Followers,

This field season has brought countless findings, including two new features identified in me and my unit partner’s very own unit! A feature is an immovable “artifact” that indicates human activity. For example, a feature can be a wall, hearth, post, and more. Our unit was located the farthest west of the season. We chose the spot for our unit because we wanted to see if we could find evidence of a boundary of the fort. For many weeks, we were not turning up as many artifacts as the other units were. Many of us, including some instructors, began to worry that our unit would not have an occupation zone, but instead only have what we call a B Horizon. This is the dirt that would have been underneath the fort at the time of occupation without any cultural activity. At around 40 centimeters below datum, we noticed something odd. In the ground, an unusually large stone appeared, and this stone grew increasingly in diameter every time we troweled away more dirt. Officially, this collection of large stones, mortared rocks, and gravel fill is called Feature 30. 

After the fun ands excitement of finding evidence of a structure after long weeks with low artifact density, we noticed some suspicious circular dirt spots. To investigate if they could be posts, we first bisected the spot located in the northeast of the unit. With the top of the possible post at 40 centimeters below datum, we trowelled a rectangular area, bisecting half, down to 55 centimeters below datum, revealing a cone-shaped mold on the profile. Within the darker soil of the possible post, we found a few pieces of wood. All of the dirt from the possible post was removed and placed in a bag to be later floated in the lab. This float sample would allow us to recover any material light enough to float on water such as wood or seeds. Ultimately, we decided it was not an intact post, but a post mold. This would be named Feature 31.

In the image above, we can see the final plan view of our unit. In the left part of the image, we see Feature 30, a large stone surrounded by many smaller rocks. Note the large mortared stone near the center of the unit. In the upper right, we see the rectangular area that was used to identify Feature 31. In the upper middle, that was an area we used to inspect another possible post/mold, but it turned out to be a bioturbation. Feature 30 appears to be structural, especially because it has very large stones and some with mortar. Its exact function at this time is unknown, so it merits further excavation in the future. For now, it would be interesting to compare it with other features found at the fort.  

The top left photograph is from a different unit which shows evidence of a wall. The stones are all lined up and some have mortar on them. Walls usually have a distinct line shape, which is a lot different from Feature 30. Another difference is that this wall does not have many small gravel rocks surrounding it. The bottom left photograph shows a fireplace from the fort. It is distinct because the stones are placed in a circular pattern, there is ash in the center, and there is red dirt. Dirt turns red with burning because it changes the chemical structures in the dirt. Our unit shows no evidence of burning, nor do we see a certain pattern with our stones.

Analysis by comparison for Feature 30 leaves us with more questions than answers. At least we know what it’s not! Even though we may not know its function, we know it indicates human activity. These rocks and stones did not end up there by mistake. Could this be a collapsed wall, a floor, or maybe even a structural marker of the boundaries of Fort St. Joseph? More excavations in the area may give us some answers to these puzzling questions about the fabulous Features 30 and 31.

- Adyn Hallahan 

What can green glass tell us?

Hi there,

Near the end of the dig, my unit partner Kieran found a shard of glass near the southwest corner of our unit around 34 cm below datum. It was a very thick piece of glass, with a beautiful olive green color, slightly curved, and full of bubbles, resembling old bottle glass. This was the biggest piece of glass we had found, and we found the color and shape to be quite intriguing. It made me wonder: How were glass bottles made in the 18th century? Could we find the particular usage of this type of glass/bottle? 

A picture of one green
glass bottle found at Cahokia

After some research, I found some information that answered my questions. In a colonial Illinois village called Cahokia, archaeologists uncovered 18th-century bottle glass fragments that were dark green and hand-blown. These were characteristics of glass bottles made by French bottle makers in the 1700s. The procedure for creating these glass bottles goes as follows:

“Sand and wood ash are melted in giant iron pots placed on a red-hot flame to form molten glass. Sand could be made from a variety of crushed rocks ranging from very expensive to very cheap. The cheaper the sand, the greener the glass. The assistant gathers a mass of molten glass on the end of a hollow blowing pipe and inflates it like a soap bubble into a mold. Molds enabled bottle makers to mass-produce bottles that held the same amount of liquid. The assistant transfers the bottle from the blower's pipe to the pontil iron. The pontil iron is used to support the bottle while the glassmaker forms the neck of the bottle. The pontil iron is also used to push the base of the bottle up into its interior, forming the 'Kick-up.' The kick-up served two purposes: to make the bottle stronger and to catch the dregs of the wine--solid matter left over from the wine-making process. The bottle is removed from the pontil-iron, leaving a pontil scar on the base of the bottle, and then left to harden as the glass cools.” Illinois State Museum, 1996.

The bottles found from the site in Cahokia were exported from France and shipped to New Orleans and Illinois, and Illinois is pretty close to southwest Michigan. They appear to be a very similar color and thickness as the glass shard from our unit, though it can be hard to tell. This makes me wonder if glass bottles were exported from Illinois to Fort St Joseph, or if they were brought to the fort via the Great Lakes.

Glass bottle fragment found in our unit. 

I am also curious about what these bottles were used for. One theory I have is for wine. The existence of wine at the Fort has been documented. In a previous FSJAP blog post made ten years ago, a student stated that “wine bottle fragments are common, and are typically olive green,” and that at the fort, “ glass for liquor containers, wine bottles, and oil, medicinal, and many other containers of varying color have been found, as well as some tableware and a lot of window glass” (Gerechka, 2013). So we do have some evidence that the people of Fort St. Joseph were wine drinkers. The wine imports not only came from France but from Britain as well, and both countries have great influence over the fort. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, “The ‘wine’ bottle was the principal product of British bottle-glass factories... The bottles were used to ship, store, mature, and serve a variety of products, primarily beverages, and were widely used not only in Britain but also in her colonies and in other countries that traded with Britain” (Jones, 1984). Britain often traded wine with France, and at Fort Saint Joseph, so there was a constant cycle of trade throughout the three different countries.

The shard of glass we found near the end of our dig season gave us additional evidence as to what the people of Fort St. Joseph may have been doing hundreds of years ago. It also paints a picture of what may have happened in our unit. Maybe people at the fort has a great taste for wine. Though we may never get an official answer, small finds like these help us dig further into the history of the fort, one step at a time.

- Alivia

Sources:

At Home: 1700: Behind the Scenes. (December 31, 1996). Illinois State Museum. https://exhibits.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/athome/1700/activity/behind/frenchbot.htm

Gerechka, A (2013). At FSJ the Glass is Half Full. Blogspot.com. https://fortstjosepharchaeology.blogspot.com/2013/07/at-fsj-glass-is-half-full.html

Jones, O. Cylindrical English Wine and Beer Bottles 1735-1850 (1984). https://sha.org/assets/documents/Cylindrical%20English%20Wine%20and%20Beer%20Bottles%20-%20English.pdf

What’s that? A bone? No, it’s just mudstone

Fort Followers,

A common occurrence here at the Fort St. Joseph field school is uncovering mudstone. Due to mudstone’s non-uniform shape, students new to the site can confuse it with artifacts, especially since it is made up of silt and clay. When finding mudstone, especially red or orange colored mudstone, it can be mistaken for a piece of dried or baked clay. Mudstone can sometimes appear to look “flaked” or “chipped” at, so a new archaeologist in training might think it could be a flint flake or even a projectile point. My classmates and I come across mudstone often and at first believed it to be other things. As a result, I thought it would be fun to research and write about what it is. 

According to the University of Auckland’s Geology page, mudstone is a sedimentary rock made of silt and clay. It describes mudstone as presenting itself in various colors like brown, black, red, grey, etc. We have mudstone at the Fort in all these colors, including some that look more orange than brown. From the website, World of Stones, it is described that when finding mudstone that is black or grey, it suggests that there is organic content. The organic content typically is due to natural gases and oils. If you were to find green, brown, red, or yellow mudstone, this would indicate the existence of iron oxide in the stone. 

World of Stones contains more information including that the chemical compound of mudstone is NaCl, CaO, Aluminum Oxide, Iron (III) Oxide, and much more. According to the website, mudstone can be located all around the globe. Continents that have mudstone include Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Australia. Mudstone is typically located near waterways, which makes sense because we are located right next to the St. Joseph River. There is also a lot of clay and silt in the river, which helps to be responsible for the creation of mudstone.

Now you may be asking yourself, “Is mudstone important?” or “Can mudstone be used for anything?”, The Geological Society helped provide me with that answer, YES! On their page, the Rock Cycle, they include mudstone being used for pottery, cement, brick roofs, and tiles. Going back to the World of Stone, they wrote that mudstone could be used as a stone veneer, pathways, stepping stones, tiles, etc.

When excavating at Fort St. Joseph, finding mudstone can be disappointing when it comes to wanting to find 18th-century artifacts. But when looking at mudstone from a different view, it is really cool. I find it really intriguing that mudstone can look completely different from each other, but be considered the same thing. It is really neat that nature makes these odd but pretty-looking rocks. 

The 2023 Fort St. Joseph field school will not be the last to uncover mudstone at the site or in the world. But I am hoping that by reading this blog, people will have a better understanding of what mudstone is and that it isn’t just a “stone”. 

Korrin 

References: 

“Mudstone Uses.” The Geological Society, www.geolsoc.org.uk/ks3/gsl/education/resources/rockcycle/page3528.html. Accessed 14 Aug. 2023.

“Mudstone – Meaning, Uses, Facts, Properties & Color.” WorldofStones, worldofstonesusa.com/blogs/all/mudstone#:~:text=Chemical%20Properties,Silicon%20Dioxide%2C%20and%20so%20on. Accessed 14 Aug. 2023.

“Mudstone.” Geology - Rocks and Minerals, rocksminerals.flexiblelearning.auckland.ac.nz/rocks/mudstone.html#:~:text=Mudstone%20is%20an%20extremely%20fine,clay%20and%20silt%2Dsized%20particles. Accessed 14 Aug. 2023. 

An unforgettable weekend!

Hey there guys,

        Last weekend we celebrated twenty five years of archeology at the site and held the annual FSJAP open house! It was a great time for everyone involved despite the weather not cooperating. One of my favorite booths was the one about zooarchaeology. Terry, the resident zooarchaeologist, brought out a ton of bones from throughout the years and some that my fellow students helped identify. One of the coolest bones at the booth was the bald eagle bones. The bone was so rare at the fort that Terry had to go out of town to confirm the species. Talk about an amazing find! 

The open house offered a lot of activities for people to do and it took a lot of people to run it smoothly. Long time volunteers like Mary Ellen, Gary and Gordon, previous field students like Kylie and Chloe, and even volunteers from organizations like the DAR and Support the Fort. Without the people and organizations who came over and shared a few days with us at the site the operations and events would have been too much to handle. I would like to thank everyone that volunteered at the open house and encourage others to volunteer next year because it’s a great time. 

This year the archeological project celebrated its twenty-fifth year as an ongoing archeological project. Twenty-five years of finding small pieces of bone. Twenty-five years of mistaking mudstone for previously mentioned bone. Twenty-five years of connecting history to the present. And most importantly twenty-five years of working with the community. In my time as a student here at Fort St. Joseph, I have had the pleasure of interacting with the local community a few times and the open house was a great time to meet more members. Even though it only lasted two days, I got to talk and joke around with countless people from the area. From living history reenactors to people who had never heard about the fort before, everyone was extremely kind. I led a few historic walking tours and many of the people who had attended my sessions knew a plethora about the local history and would tell fun anecdotes about playing around the commemorative rock and surrounding woods. I just loved seeing how recovering the past can bring people together through the open house. Seeing just how much everyone was genuinely interested in the site and how it made them think critically made me realize how important archeology can be. All in all, the open house this year was nothing short of amazing. I would like to thank everyone who came out, volunteered, and spread the word. This incredible event and milestone would not happen without your support. 

- Ian

Forts, Poor Farms, and Logging Towns: The differences between 18th and 19th Century Material Culture

 

Hi everyone!

My name is Michelle and I am one of the field interns working on the site this year. I am a senior anthropology student at Grand Valley State University and have experienced two field schools through the anthropology department there, both of which being 19th century sites! The artifacts there are a bit different than the ones found at Fort St. Joseph, so let's go through the differences in material culture and my experiences at these other sites!

Material culture can vary depending on the time period you’re excavating. At Fort St. Joseph, you will find 18th century artifacts whether it be construction debris or items left behind by artisans and residents of the fort. Some of the material culture in this area and time period show the importance of trade and industry in the 1700’s. Seed beads, remnants of blacksmithing, and lead shot are some examples of artifacts recently uncovered on site. Material culture looked a lot different in the 1800’s due to industrialization creating a greater variety of items. In the 19th century many small towns began to pop up in the western Michigan region, especially along the Grand River which is where I am talking about today.

In 2021 we did a field school at Eastmanville Poor Farm, which is now a state park with walking trails and a historic barn. Poor farms were built to be a home for the poor and mentally ill before government assistance was available. Our goal was to locate the “Midway House'' which was one of the first structures built in the area to act as a resting place for travelers. Built in the 1860’s and torn down in the 1950’s, this building has seen a lot of history. We have records that this building was once used for patients and residents of the farm until a secondary building was constructed. We set up units on the foundation and perimeter of the house and we found a lot of construction debris such as red and yellow brick, window glass, and even a stove foot. An interesting thing to note is the vast variety of nails found in the wreckage. Since the building stood for almost 100 years, they used different nails over the years, from square handwrought to the smaller mass produced varieties. In addition to these constriction materials we found some trash of the time period. Back then their trash looked a lot different to what we would think of today. Broken watch gears, pots, and even some scraps of fabric may have been thrown out the back door or window of the house, and we may have found where they dumped ash buckets outside as well. Even trash in the archaeological record can be interesting!

        

        Here is an example of a stove foot; the
        stove sits on the metal plate to displace heat.

Broken pot found in my excavation unit.

White buttons like this are the most common in the collection.

In 2023 the field school was held in Blendon Landing. Blendon Landing is an old logging and shipbuilding town which was most populated in the mid 1860’s and was abandoned by 1912. Grand Valley has held many field schools there since 1969 due to its vicinity to campus and since the University owns the land. All that remains of the town is a forest and a scar cut into the ground which used to be a logging rail line. A lot of the material culture found were construction materials and housewares. Whiteware, bottle glass, and buttons can provide insight into the daily lives of the residents. We found a broken horseshoe which shows that they had livestock. This confirms our knowledge of the area being turned into farmland after the town was abandoned. Field schools over the years have yielded a lot of buttons from the site. Buttons of the time vary a lot depending on socioeconomic status and materials in the area. In the 18th century buttons were most commonly found on mens uniforms as a sign of status. (Copper uniform buttons have been found this year) In the 19th century the variety of buttons increased due to industrialization. Glass, shell, metal, and even rubber buttons become commonplace in all sorts of garments. Fancier buttons are signs of wealth so it is interesting to see how much we can learn about individuals from such small items.

The main thing I find so interesting about the differences in material culture at these sites is how much it can tell us about the people that used to live there. The level of consumerism is so different between these two centuries, you can imagine how different their lives must have been. The stories told from the mundane are some of the most interesting to me, there is so much to be told from broken pieces of pottery to the smallest seed bead. If anything, my time here has solidified my love for dirt, rusty nails, and seed beads no matter how numerous they are.

See you out there! 

-Michelle Oberlin

Stems and bowls and pipes oh my!

Hello fellow archaeology enthusiasts! 

It’s Hollie again from unit N10 E3. It has been a great few weeks out at Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project and things are about to get even more interesting! As we are making our way through the plow zone toward the occupation zone, we are uncovering more and more 18th century artifacts. We have been particularly excited to find fragments of clay and stone pipes over the last couple of weeks. While excavating and wet screening our unit, Emma and I were fortunate enough to find 4+ clay pipe stem fragments as well as a pretty large piece of a stone pipe bowl! Several others at the site, classmates, campers, and volunteers, have also discovered clay pipe stems and an additional piece of a stone pipe bowl. 

Though not an overly uncommon find at FSJ, pipe stems can tell us more than one may think about this historic site. Pipe stems are, like their name suggests, the stems of smoking pipes used for recreational and spiritual smoking of tobacco and other substances. First crafted and used by Indigenous Americans, Europeans began crafting their own clay pipes during the early 1600s. It appears that the pipe stems commonly found at Fort St. Joseph, and in unit N10 E3 specifically, are of European, not Indigenous American origin. The white clay pipes crafted by Europeans were less expensive to produce than obtaining Native American-made clay pipes but have been found to be more fragile than those of their Native counterparts. Those excavated so far this summer have been from the plow zone and range from around 1 to 4 centimeters in length. It is likely that the somewhat fragile pipes were broken, or further broken, by the plowing that took place in the area. These pipe fragments are particularly interesting because they can tell us not only about the social and spiritual practices of local Indigenous peoples and occupying Europeans, but about the age and occupation of the fort itself. 

Upon initial observations, the pipe stems appear quite similar in appearance; however, the fragments of clay pipe stems excavated at FSJ all have one feature key in distinguishing them from each other, and perhaps more importantly, from other pipe stems not found or less commonly found at the site. This important feature is the bore hole going through each of the stem fragments. Archaeologists have been able to determine that the width of pipe stems holes corresponds to the years in which they were manufactured. Additionally, the hole sizes can help tell us if the pipes we are finding were locally traded items or ones imported from Europe. Though it cannot account for the exact duration of years in which the pipes were distributed and traded, this system of dating played an important role in initial dating of Fort St. Joseph.   

Stone pipe bowls are thought to have increased in popularity during the early 18th century, perhaps in response to the fragility of European made clay pipes. Interestingly however, stone pipe bowls have been a significantly less common find at the FSJ Archaeological Project thus far. The stone pipe bowl pictured is the one Emma and I found in the west wall of our unit on Thursday, July 27th. The wisdom of Dr. Michael Nassaney, alongside additional research, has revealed that the fragment belongs to a Micmac style pipe, likely originating from Maine or northeastern Canada. Unlike the pipes previously mentioned, this pipe bowl was not equipped with an attached pipe stem. Instead, it would have had a separate wooden, often highly decorated, detachable stem. Micmac pipes were more distinctly spiritual than clay pipes made and used during the same time. Said pipes were initially used amongst the Mi’kmaq people only with nonrecreational herbal blends and tobacco for spiritual ceremony. Later, as the pipes were adopted by Europeans and other Native American groups, their original spiritual intentions became blurry. They were increasingly used for recreational purpose, forgoing the strong ceremonial emphasis of the Mi’kmaq people. They additionally became more ornate as their popularity grew, losing their humble spiritual beginnings. 

The pipes are thought to have originally symbolized the balance of peace between man and woman and between nature and human interactions. As they gained popularity however, their meaning evolved to a more generalized symbol of peace, particularly between native groups and between Europeans like those at FSJ and Native American locals like the Potawatomi. It is additionally believed that smoking stone pipes in the presence of each other indicated cordial relations. The presence of Native American made pipes at Fort St. Joseph provides further evidence of trade and relations between local indigenous groups and the European occupiers of FSJ. 

- Hollie

References 

Muin’iskw, & Crowfeather. (2016, March 25). Mi’kmaw Spirituality- The Sacred Pipe. Mi’kmaw culture - spirituality - the sacred pipe. https://www.muiniskw.org/pgCulture2f.htm 

McMillan, Lauren K. (2016) "An Evaluation of Tobacco Pipe Stem Dating Formulas," Northeast Historical Archaeology: Vol. 45 45, Article 3.

Rafferty, S. M., Mann, R., & Nassaney, M. S. (2004). Ch. 4- Men and Women, Pipes and Power in Native New England. In Smoking and culture: The archaeology of tobacco pipes in eastern North America (1st ed., pp. 125–141). University of Tennessee Press. 

Excavating to Answer Research Questions

Hi everyone, 

    My name is Emma Maher and I am a junior at WMU majoring in anthropology and minoring in public history. Over the past few weeks my partner Hollie and I have been excavating our unit, located at N10 E3. We have been finding many exciting artifacts such as lead shot, various types of beads, window and bottle glass, nails, wampum, pipe stems, an upholstery tack, part of a stone pipe bowl, and lots and lots of bones.

 

You might think we just got lucky to be finding these things, but in reality, choosing where to start digging is a decision that requires some careful thought. When we were all looking at where to place our units, we had to consider where past units were and what they found as well as consider what specific question we wanted to answer. While many of our fellow students were interested in finding the boundaries of the site to help answer the question of how far Fort St Joseph extends, Hollie and I were interested in the previously located Feature 27, a fireplace. We want to see how far the fireplace extends and whether there is in fact another structure around it. 

    In 2018, the units N9 E0 and N9 E2 were opened in order to explore Feature 27. So far, the artifacts that Hollie and I found are consistent with those that were previously found in these units. While they were able to expose even more of Feature 27 and make a reasonable assumption that it represents another structure (Structure 6), there are still many unanswered questions about this area of the site. We hope to be able to find archaeological evidence to provide more information about this area and what it was used for, including further evidence of Structure 6.

Stay tuned for more updates! 

Emma

Fun First French Find

Hi Fort Followers,

On the second day of digging on the site, I happened to be searching for some cool rocks while my unit partner, Kieran, shovel skimmed. As I dug through the dirt Kieran lifted, I found three interesting rocks. I rinse them off and notice something intriguing about one of them. It appeared to have marks on it that resemble it being chipped away at. The marks seemed more human-influenced rather than a natural occurrence, so I asked my professor about it. Sure enough - it was an 18th-century gun flint! 

The flint is a honey-brown color, with a circular shape and a flat, smooth surface. One end of the flint has been chipped away at, creating a slightly flat edge. After doing some research, I discovered that this type of gunflint is called a spall-type gunflint, which is made from a large flake (or “spall”) knocked off a module of flint. Spalls refer to the shape being as wide as it is long. While it is the easiest to make, it is not as efficient.

Another detail to take note of is the color. As I mentioned earlier, the gunflint is a beautiful honey-brown color. Flint/chert of this color typically comes from France, while dark grey flint is produced in Britain. This shows the influence the French had at Fort St. Joseph during the 18th century.

After hearing all of this information, you may be wondering - what does a gunflint do? In a flintlock (a firearm with a flint-striking mechanism), a gunflint is typically held by the flintlock jaws and cushioned by a piece of cloth or leather. The flintlock jaws are a piece of the gun that holds the flint behind the frizzen, which is an L-shaped piece of steel hinged at the front. When you pull the trigger, the flint hits the frizzen and scrapes off the iron to produce sparks. The frizzen is also struck back by the hammer to uncover the gunpowder in the pan. The gunpowder ignites, and it travels through a small hole in the barrel’s side to set fire to the gunpowder in the barrel. While this sounds like a long, confusing process, this all happens in a matter of seconds. Usually, a flint is good for around 20-30 firings before it deteriorates, so soldiers were expected to carry several spare flints with them. 

Finding this gunflint in our unit was an awesome feeling. Being able to uncover a piece of the past and rewrite its fate of being buried underground forever is a big accomplishment for me. Not only was I proud, but also very shocked to find it. I got very lucky and happened to stumble upon an artifact while looking for cool rocks. If you decide to participate in excavating someday, I have one tip for you - make sure you check every stone you find! You never know what you could discover.

- Alivia

Sources:

Brain, M. (2000, April). How Flintlock Guns Work. HowStuffWorks; HowStuffWorks. https://science.howstuffworks.com/flintlock2.htm#:~:text=When%20you%20fire%20the%20gun,the%20gunpowder%20inside%20the%20barrel

Samson Historical. (2023). Original Gun Flints. Samson Historical. https://www.samsonhistorical.com/en-ca/products/orginal-gun-flints

Beads, Beads, and More Beads!

Hi everyone,

If I were asked to say what makes Fort St. Joseph such a great site, I’d say it gives people a chance to literally hold history in their hands. For me, the chance to hold history in my hands has come in the last few weeks at our unit; good ol’ South 7 West 19. Though we hadn’t initially found more than a cluster of roots and one very imposing plant- which has been officially removed from the unit 😊. One of the largest variety of artifacts we’ve uncovered has come in the form of beads! Yes, I know, “What’s so special about beads?” you ask. While they aren’t the only kind of artifact we’ve recovered, I thought this post would be an excellent chance to shed a little more light on their cultural significance, such as their purposes as personal décor or valued tradables, just to name a few. 

Now, for those of you who don’t already know this, Fort St. Joseph has no shortage of beads which have served as continuing, supportive evidence of the historic economy between the French Traders and local Indigenous groups. What you might not know (unless you’re a curator or have spent time at the lab) is that there are literally tens of thousands of them which have been recovered... and very likely hundreds of thousands in total! From crinoids (a fossilized prehistoric plant material turned into a bead) to glass beads (typically used in fashionable neckwear or other kinds of jewelry) to the very smallest of seed beads (largely filler for personal attire or stylized accoutrements), the variety never truly ends and our site has several of each! 

Last week, my pit partner noticed something of particular interest in our Northeast corner... What it turned out to be was an especially interesting adornment item made of pipestone (or at least half of one!) This really made things interesting because of the scarcity of relevant artifacts at our unit prior to that point, so this was a tremendous morale booster that kept our focus sharper than our trowels. We’re definitely looking forward to more discoveries at Fort St. Joseph and history to hold in our hands!  

See you at the Wet Screens!

- Nick Harvey

Perplexing Pipestone

    Leveling a unit can prove a challenge, especially after a long day of shovel skimming and troweling in the summer heat. At the end of the day, I decided to take a few centimeters off of the northeast corner near the balk in order to get an even 20 centimeters below datum all around. Suddenly, a bright red object appeared starkly against the dark brown soil of the plow zone (right). At first glance, we identified the object as a catlinite adornment artifact. Catlinite is a soft, red clay stone that is easily worked. In the photograph below, you can see how this item was drilled down the center so that it could be strung and worn. Catlinite is generally used by Native Americans to make pipes or ornaments and is a culturally significant stone. What could this mean for Fort St. Joseph?  

   Further research proved to be quite interesting. After reading many articles, we found out that catlinite is actually a misnomer for any red workable stone used by the Native Americans. This means that there are other stones that look similar and act similar, but are actually a different stone altogether. Pipestone is the proper term to call these artifacts since it is impossible to differentiate the mineral composition by sight. Even more surprising, catlinite can only be found in Minnesota, whereas pipestone deposits are found in Kansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The Pipestone National Monument in Minnesota is well known for being the source of many catlinite artifacts such as ceremonial pipes, pendants, and other types of ornamentation. This means that the artifact I found came from out of state, and had to have been traded to end up at Fort St. Joseph. If we were able to test the mineral composition of the artifact I found, that would allow us to locate exactly where the stone was mined from. In this case, I am personally not exactly sure in which state it originates, but it is a very interesting find nonetheless.

    Over 300,000 artifacts have been recovered from Fort St. Joseph since 2002. Out of hundreds of thousands of artifacts, less than 30 examples of pipestone pieces have been recovered. What this means for the fort, I can only imagine. Perhaps this piece was given as a gift to the people of the post by a Native American, or maybe they traded it for other goods. In my opinion, this artifact is a BIG deal. Since it is so rare and came from a distant state, it must have meant something grand to the people of the time. I can’t wait to see what other stories the artifacts of Fort St. Joseph will tell!

- Adyn

References

Archaeology, PA. “Red Plains Pipestone: Catlinite ?” Red Plains Pipestone: Catlinite?, 30 Dec. 2010, twipa.blogspot.com/2010/12/when-george-catlin-renowned-19th.html?m=1.  

Emerson, Thomas E., and Randall E. Hughes. “De-Mything the Cahokia Catlinite Trade.” Plains Anthropologist, vol. 46, no. 176, 2001, pp. 149–61, https://doi.org/10.1080/2052546.2001.11932066. Permalink: https://primo-pmtna01.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/9hbp01/TN_cdi_proquest_journals_214772428 

Wisseman, Sarah U., et al. “Refining the Identification of Native American Pipestone Quarries in the Midcontinental United States.” Journal of Archaeological Science, vol. 39, no. 7, 2012, pp. 2496–505, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2012.04.007. Permalink: https://primo-pmtna01.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/9hbp01/TN_cdi_crossref_primary_10_1016_j_jas_2012_04_007 

Fort St. Joseph Critters

 Hello, fellow archaeology enthusiasts! 

My name is Hollie Powless, and I am currently in my last year of studying anthropology at WMU. 

While we are first and foremost focused on the archaeological aspects of this site, I cannot help but notice the natural world around us. Fort St. Joseph is located right on the river, surrounded by lush grasses and trees occupied by a vast array of animals. Many of these critters seem to have taken an interest in our work, frequently stopping by, and pausing in and around our units. Over the last two weeks in the field, my classmates and I have documented and discussed the various bugs and such we meet each day. Daddy long legs, isopods, dragonflies, bumblebees, beetles, slugs, worms, grubs, frogs, and toads are the most abundant across all the units thus far. Other creatures, including various waterfowl and songbirds, turtles, snakes, and an unexpected and adorable mink, grace our presence from a distance from time to time.

In our unit, which will be explored in greater depth in a future blog, my partner Emma and I have discovered and excavated a significant number of bone pieces and fragments. As a result of these excavations, we have started to question how the 18th-century fort’s animal inhabitants compare to what we see there today. Many of the bones we have found so far this field school season, as well as those that have been found in the past, belong to animals that still occupy the area (deer, raccoon, beaver, etc.). The bones of vertebrates, animals with spinal cords and backbones, including all mammals, reptiles, fish, amphibians, and birds, remain preserved in this heavily waterlogged archaeological site. The same, however, cannot be said for invertebrates like bugs, insects, arachnids, slugs, and worms. 

Is it possible that the same kinds of creepy crawlies we interact with now, existed among the Jesuit missionaries, French fur traders, and Natives over 300 years ago? This is an interesting question to propose, as it cannot be answered simply through bone analysis and identification, in the way vertebrates can. 

Although I admittedly would rather the spiders on the site not crawl up my pantlegs, I appreciate their presence in my first field school experience. We look at the bones of dead animals all day, and while undoubtedly exciting, I am thankful to otherwise be surrounded by life. With so much of our excavated bone being in tiny fragments, the hopping frogs and tweeting birds serve as a helpful reminder that though unrecognizable now, that bone once belonged to a living being. Remember to watch where you step if you come out to visit Fort St. Joseph because you never know what little critters might be visiting too!

Zooarchaeology Lab with Dr. Martin

Hey there,

Last week, we attended a zooarchaeology lab in the basement of the Niles District Library. We learned about the types of animals that lived in and around Fort St. Joseph, and how to identify and catalog their remains. Terry, the host, was extremely knowledgeable about bones, and could identify bone fragments after just a few seconds of looking at it. It helped provide a lot of context for the bones we are finding at the site. 

Zooarchaeology is the study of faunal remains found in archeological sites. Studying animal bones can reveal a lot about the people who hunted, farmed, and cooked them. In the big picture, this helps us have a better understanding of the daily life of people in the fort. Knowing the diet of the people who lived in the fort gives us a lot of information about wealth, living conditions, and population.

We are always on the lookout for bones that have any sort of human modification. Modifications come in a few different categories: cultural, natural, and environmental. Cultural modifications include butcher marks, evidence of hunting, cooked bones, and modifications for decorative use, such as drilled holes or etched designs. Natural modifications are usually marks leftover from predator animals, who often leave bite marks on the bones of prey. Environmental modifications come from the conditions that the remains are left in. High moisture environments, like the floodplain that the fort sits on, preserve bone differently than dry environments, and is important to consider when assessing remains.

One of the most common faunal remains found at the fort are deer bones. We have already identified a mandible, multiple teeth, and an astragalus (heel bone) across a few different units that all belong to deer. Deer are an important species to study, because they are commonly hunted, and their bones are used for all sorts of things, even today. I took this picture of an intact deer mandible at the lab (above left), to help identify the partial mandible found in our unit.

One of the most interesting things from the zooarchaeology lab was learning about the lack of fish bones found at the site. Carson, the lab coordinator, suggested that fish remains may be found in a garden-like deposit because fish could be used as fertilizer. This would explain why we haven't found many yet, and maybe in the future somebody will excavate a pile of fish bones and interpret the area as a garden. Terry did show us a fragment of cartilage and bone that came from a sturgeon (right), so we would know what to look for! 

• Kieran 

The Birds at Fort St. Joseph

Rolling up on site in the morning, one of the first sounds you are likely to be greeted by (given good weather) is the shrill cry of the many killdeer that gather along the St. Joseph river. Often their ruckus will continue throughout the day and even into the afternoon--becoming a sort of white noise in itself (or, perhaps more accurately: a white, black, and brown noise.)

The river in itself provides a great setting to see many birds. You might stroll over to the water screen, heavy bucket of plow zone in hand, and look over to see a flock of Canadian geese chilling out on the sandbar. I have also seen mallards hanging around, heard the chattering of many a belted kingfisher, and the shriek of a gull. One day we spotted a swan pair with their young cruising out on the water!

Now, you might say, “hey, you’re out there digging. Is there really time to be looking around at birds?” And yes, I have spent plenty of time scraping diligently away, hardly daring to look up too much as the hot afternoon rays beat down upon the earth. But that does not stop one from hearing the birds. And oh my, there are a lot of them. I have already discussed the cry of the killdeer. But there are plenty of other birds that makeup the background noise on site (or foreground noise, if you are a blue jay with plenty to say). On several days I have heard what is either a hairy or downy woodpecker--or both. Funnily, these two woodpeckers look similar to each other, too, though when you see them side-by-side you realize the harry is much larger. Speaking of larger woodpeckers, THE largest woodpecker (the pileated) has also been heard on site. I hope to see one flitting about one day when I am taking a water break!

There have also been the more gentle chips of the northern cardinal. I would not be surprised if some of these chips are those of the rose-breasted grosbeak--the two sound very similar at times. One afternoon, we saw a hawk (probably a redtail) circling over, calling. We have heard hawk calls on other days too but it’s also very likely that some of the noises we have heard are actually imitation calls done by blue jays! Chickadees have also made their presence known, usually earlier in the day. 

I hope that maybe one morning there will be a great blue heron along the bank--or maybe an osprey soaring above the water one afternoon. It is interesting to think about what same birds those who resided in the fort may have heard, what species may no longer be in the area or, in some cases--like that of the passenger pigeon--no longer exist. Did the French also get irritated with the call of the clever jays? While our excavations will likely not provide an answer to that question, it is good food for thought while I trowel away.

Abbey Churney

From Classroom to Field

        The 2023 excavation season at the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project has begun and marks 25 years of WMU excavations at the site. Ten students and one student leader started the field school with two days of introduction materials at Western Michigan University. I joined the field school to further my knowledge in archaeology and to get hands-on experience using excavation techniques. During the first two days, we were introduced to the history and excavation of Fort St. Joseph. We also practiced laying out our units and mapping so we were prepared when we visited the site. Erika Hartley, the director of the Project, took the time to present the material and methods in a way that provided the students with the skills needed to set up our dig units and lay the groundwork for our expanding knowledge of the site. Our goal is to be able to interpret and discuss our findings in the unit. 

The first day on site proved to be very challenging. The site had to be prepared for all the operations we would use to search for knowledge. We do not just dig holes in the dirt; we have to methodically measure and lay out units in such a way that future researchers can look at our paperwork and artifacts and be able to make inferences using that data. It requires careful planning and set up. 

       We do actually dig in the dirt, which we began shortly after setting up. The excitement has been palpable as each unit has found artifacts which makes for a promising season. In addition to troweling and gathering artifacts by hand, we also get to wet screen the material. Wet screening is a process where we take material from the unit and sift it through screens using water. The water breaks up the soil, allowing us to pick out small items that we would otherwise miss. Wet screening is essential at Fort St. Joseph because there are a lot of little artifacts. So far, we have found small bone fragments, seed beads, animal teeth, lead shots, and more. It is important for us to find these things so that we can try to piece together what life was like during the Fort’s occupational period. The students are striving hard to make their mark on the legacy at Fort St. Joseph and answer important questions about the site and the activities of those who used the fort. 

See you all at the Archaeology Open House on August 5 and 6!

- John Simmons

Indiana Jones and Archaeology

 Hey Gang! It’s me, Ian

Last weekend, Nick and I went to go see the new Indiana Jones movie in theaters. In between the handfuls of popcorn being shoved into my mouth and the sips of my drink I thought to myself, “This Indiana Jones guy isn’t doing real archeology.” I went back and re-examined some of the other movies and came to one conclusion. Indiana Jones is kind of a "treasure seeker" and does less archeology than a kid playing in a sandbox. 

In Raiders of The Lost Ark, for example, Indy gets contracted by the American government to go find the Ark of the Covenant. Contractual work is something most archaeologists come across in their career, but that is one of the only similarities between archeologists and Dr. Jones. He proceeds to go on an action packed adventure tearing up the desert and dig sites near Cairo. Believe it or not, many archaeologists get upset when their dig site is ruined or even walked over. But one of the biggest things I noticed in Raiders was the fact that Indy never once sat down to write out some paperwork. There was a scene of Indy with a pencil in his hand, but he was unable to write legibly because he forgot his clipboard. Field notes would have made this movie ten times more believable. In one of the final acts of the film, Jones threatens to blow up the Ark of the Covenant. BLOW IT UP! As an archaeologist in training, I would have cut my losses at that point. Even though the Ark got away, valuable knowledge was uncovered such as: where it was recovered from and some of its' importance.

In the Dial of Destiny, Indy is back to his old habits. It seems as though he is more interested in going on an adventure than finding out the historical and cultural significance of the Dial. At one point, Indy is tossing around some Clovis points just to get to a piece of the Dial. I know that the projectile points don’t possess magical properties, but they should still be treated with care. What if someone wanted to study the Clovis points only to realize that Indy had destroyed them by throwing them on the ground. It would be a tragedy! Going back to the magical properties of the items that Jones finds, I would like to point out that not every artifact is cursed or imbued with some crazy power. I may not have recovered the most artifacts at Fort St. Joseph, but I promise I have encountered no magical items. No bones that grant immortality. No tinkling cones that make the wearer invisible. Not even a single piece of clinker that makes the person that eats it have rock powers. If only!

If I were to make the next Indiana Jones movie more “realistic,” I would make a movie where Indy gets called out to a corn field and spends a few days clearing out the corn, laying out a 1 x 2 meter unit, and getting the depth measurements wrong a few times (happens to the best of us). Then, instead of fighting off Nazis or other extremist groups, he would be talking to interested passersby and wrestling with one of his toughest enemies yet--trying to obtain a grant from private investors. After making a convincing argument about hoping to find one simple artifact to the grant holders, he would shovel skim for a few hours and trowel. Jones would receive his fortune and glory by being the 34th person to find a stone tool in the area and figuring out where the edges of a certain site were located. It wouldn’t be much, but in the end, it wouldn't matter what he found, it is all about what he would find out.

Looking Back on Orientation

            On June 29th and June 30th, I started orientation for Western Michigan University’s Archaeological Field School. The field school is to take place in Niles, Michigan at Fort St. Joseph, but our orientation took place on Western’s main campus. I was joined by nine other students, our lab coordinator, and the instructor. 

            Our first day started off with introductions between ourselves, and then an introduction to the program. We each had been provided binders that included our class syllabus. We went through the syllabus that’s first section was the background of the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Program. The syllabus also included our schedule which showed the days we’d be in Niles, and what we’d be doing. I was glad to go over the syllabus, as I had been nervous about the program. I haven’t done a field school before so I had no clue what to expect. Reading through the syllabus in class was helpful to ease my anxiety. 

            On the second day, we started out by learning the field procedures. Our field procedures include record keeping (catalog numbers), starting excavation units, bag tags, etc. By having these procedures we are ensuring that we can get our work done in a way that everyone understands. Something else we covered was the “excavation unit level sheet” which is used to mark where artifacts are found in our excavation units. After learning about the procedures in the classroom we headed outside to practice these sheets, as well as practicing measuring out a unit. I really enjoyed being outside and doing this, because it was hands-on and I learn better by doing things hands-on. 

            Later in the day, we watched videos that taught us about the history of Fort St. Joseph and the area surrounding it. The fort was established in the late 1600s by the French and the residents fur traded with the Neshnabe. After watching the videos, we went over slides that taught us more about the fort, and about WMU’s involvement. Some of the slides included maps that showed where the 2022 field school’s students had excavated. This led to our last activity, where I conversed with other students about where we thought we should excavate this year.

            The rest of the day included us watching videos on Fort St Joseph and its involvement with the community. We watched videos about the yearly summer camp that is open to elementary through high school kids, as well as the open house we are to help put on later this summer. I think it’s really awesome that the fort, WMU, and the community of Niles are willing to come together to preserve this history. As much as I am nervous about the field school, I am much more excited to see what’s to come. I am excited that I was given the opportunity to join this program and be involved with the community.

Korrin Lovett