It Was a Dark and Stormy Night...

Getting artifacts ready!

It was a dark and stormy night… Well, Tuesday night it was. Hi. I’m Rachel Juen, one of this year’s field school students and a Public History graduate student at Western Michigan University. Last Tuesday I was driving back to Niles from WMU where fellow field school student Erica Stone and I, with the assistance of Ian Kerr, had been taking a break from field work to design and put together an exhibit for this year’s Fort St. Joseph Open House. We’ve put together several cases of fur trade related artifacts from Fort. St. Joseph. In addition, I’ve spent the past three months working on a poster panel exhibit about the fur trade in New France that I hope you will enjoy. Come see the fruits of our labors at the Open House next weekend, August 13th and 14th.

Possible foundation and fireplace!

Although I’m excited about our work on the exhibit, it felt good to be back in the field the next morning after three days away working in the lab. In addition to feeling the dirt between our fingers and toes and seeing our colleagues and friends again, we had some pretty cool finds. In our unit, Xiaomeng, Alex and I found a chisel and several hand-wrought nails which we believe may be associated with a metal cache found in an adjacent unit from last year. This cache may have been a storage heap for metal scraps that the fort blacksmith could have used. We are hoping that in the coming days we will be able to discover the extent of the cache, and uncover more about it.

Pottery and charcoal feature.

In the next unit over Lance, Erika, and Mary Ellen found some cut glass insets which may have once been part of a finger ring or a sleeve button. Even more exciting, their unit contains a feature which appears to have been a fireplace or hearth and shows signs of being part of a foundational wall for a building. Another really cool find—several broken shards of Native pottery— has rarely been found on the site previously. These shards, found by Tim Bober and our middle school campers, may be evidence that Native pottery continued to be used by Native women even after they married French men, pointing to the blending of cultural practices in the multi-ethnic community that was Fort St. Joseph. It always amazes me what we can learn from what we find and I hope you can come experience that wonder with us at the upcoming Open House!

Yours in Archaeology,
~Rachel Juen












Photo credits Cathrine Davis

Mysteries of the Past

Ken's eyes gleamed like lead shot found in the wet screen. "Jordan, look at this!" he exclaimed as he carefully stepped across the damp, fragrant hay surrounding our unit. I looked into his outstretched hand, curiosity evident in my expression. The sun caught on the artifact, sending delicate rainbows of light scurrying across his palm.

I gasped with amazement as I gingerly retrieved the object and began to study it in closer proximity. It was a small piece of elegantly cut glass, obviously meant for personal adornment. I rolled it back and forth daintily between my fingers, feeling the alluring caress of the past as I imagined what sort of ornamentation it served as during its heyday. The ridges were strong yet subtle, creating a silhouette both graceful and pleasing to the eye.

Even while engrossed in my observations of the glass bauble, I noticed a break in the earthy music of the site as my unit neighbor to the west paused in his troweling. Alex stood up slowly, wiping the sweat from his brow. A glint of green shimmered in his firm hand, piquing my interest. "We have a green cufflink here, set in some sort of metal." Our eyes met as we halted our perusal of our respective finds. Identical expressions of pleasure flooded our faces as I somberly declared, "We must be approaching occupation level!" We carefully placed our artifacts in amber vials and picked up our trowels anew, anticipation renewing our efforts.

Jordan Freeman

Photo credit Cathrine Davis

All in a week's work...

Hi everyone,

To start off I suggest everyone take a look at this article in the Niles Daily Star. Thanks to Kate of the Star for coming out to the site last week to see what we are up to!

It certainly has been a busy week down at the site, but there are some excellent finds to show for it! This week was also the first week of Archaeology Campers, and we could not be more appreciative of the extra hands on site and hope the first group enjoyed the opportunity to work like a real archaeologist--digging, screening, paperwork, and all. Some of these campers decided to share their experience for the blog, so I will be posting one or two of these every so often so you all can hear about what is it like to join the staff and students in the pits. The following are the thoughts of one of these brave souls:

Some of our hard-working campers!

"We have learned much about the world of archaeology--from the lectures on the lives of those living in historic times to the eureka of discovery, granted it might be a bead, rock, or a not-so-old bottle...all are discoveries nonetheless.

We have also experienced the hard work of digging holes, sliding and sinking in mud, and washing artifacts in a dark basement. Still, what actually started out as a "bucket list" activity has turned into something I intend to do again."

I say the more future archaeologists the better! As for some of the great finds this week one of them may be the first feature of the year. A large stone, far too large to have been brought in by the river, has been uncovered in one of the units. At this time we are thinking that this may mark part of a foundation, and are eager to get back into the trenches to continue the investigation!

Other exciting finds include purple and white shell beads called wampum (please click the photo to the left for a close-up). Wampum were strung and woven together into belts by Native Americans to commemorate sacred and historic events like alliances and treaties. These belts were sometimes also used as currency, especially after the arrival of Europeans who began to produce the belts in greater quantities. This is such an exciting find because wampum is made from quahog or whelk shells that are only found along the northeast coast--these beads traveled quite a distance to get here, and likely mark some serious trade activities!

This is what it is "awl" about!

This week also marks the discovery of our first awl for this year. Awls made out of bone or antler were used by Native Americans to punch holes in hides in order to stitch them together. When Europeans entered the area they brought with them metal awls that could be used in trade negotiations. Awls are pointed tools that are much heavier than typical sewing needles, making them ideal for working with thick materials like leather. This type of tool has been around for thousands and thousands of years and has been made from many different materials including antler, bone, stone, and metal. Today many awl kits come with a wooden handle into which interchangable awl tips can be inserted.

Glass inset.

Two other eye-catching finds include a cufflink with green glass inset and a clear glass inset that also could have been part of a cufflink or some item of personal adornment. While these may be some of the most alluring finds, they are no more important than the bone and nails that we pull out of the dirt. For archaeologists every single type of artifact has the potential to tell a story. Nails can direct us towards the location of buildings, bones can tell us about what people were eating, and cufflinks can tell us about adornment styles. Each is a clue to understanding the past, and should not be overlooked.

Cufflink.

I will check back in tomorrow with an update on our lead bale seal, tales from campers, and more (I have to leave some surprises!). Thank you to everyone who came out to the Wednesday lecture and our Friday 2:00 tour. Also, a big thanks to those following along with our blog--we really appreciate your support!

Kelley


Photo credits Cathrine Davis