A Closer Look at Seed Beads

Down at the Fort St. Joseph site we are beginning to find this season’s first traces of 18th-century artifacts. Some units have found artifacts like bone, slag and clinker, a fragment of a clay tobacco pipe stem, and numerous seed beads. Currently my unit has yielded the largest number of seed beads with over ten (white and blue beads) found so far. Seed beads are a common artifact at the Fort and this blog is dedicated to give you a little more background on something you’ll be hearing a lot more about in future posts.

A few of the seed beads found at my unit

Made by the Europeans and then transported to the New World, the seed beads were specifically designed to be mass-produced to facilitate trade. Most glass beads, especially in the 17th century, were produced by stretching out a long hollow tube of glass, letting it cool then slicing the hardened glass into individual beads. Seed beads get their name from their size; they are only a few millimeters in diameter and resemble small seeds. Because of their size they were embroidered onto clothing as adornment and decoration instead of being used as necklaces.  Larger beads are also found on site but only one has been recovered thus far. These trade beads where produced in large quantities by the 17th and 18th century and were frequently exchanged with Native Americans.

Such a high demand for these beads was created by the cross-cultural contact between the French and the Native Americans. Along with beads, Native Americans also traded for European fabrics, cutting it into the style of their traditional dress. Pre-bead decoration in Native communities was defined by what resources they had naturally like feathers, shell and bone. These traditional patterns were maintained after the introduction of beads.

Bead color was important. European traders learned which beads were more likely to sell based on which colors the Natives consistently bought. Colors like white, red and black were popular for their symbolic meanings. White stood for light, life, mind and knowledge. Red for fire (or for heat and light), life, blood and berries. Black symbolized darkness, death, mourning and an overall absence of well-being.

New glass technology was being pioneered at this time in Europe, arriving just in time to fill the demand for different colored beads. This allowed a wider range of colors to be produced. Different chemicals were used to create different colors in the glass. For example, the seed beads we have found so far have been blue and white. In order to make that blue color on the bead the glass maker would have used cobalt oxide, or some sort of copper compound. To make the beads white they would have added either tin compounds or antimony oxides.  

Seed beads are a common trade item for sites in North America where Native Americans traded with Europeans. We can find seed beads in many of the places where the two cultures were in contact. Patterns of seed beads similar to Fort St. Joseph’s bead assemblage can be found at other Great Lakes sites such as Fort Michilimackinac and Rock Island. The beads themselves took on different functions but one thing that is clear is that the beads represent an important part of the cross-cultural interaction between the French traders and the Native Americans who incorporated them into their own culture.

-Che

Resources:

Malischke, Lisa Marie. “The Excavated Bead Collection At Fort St. Joseph (20BE23) and Its Implications For Understanding Adornment Ideology Cultural Exchange and Identity”. Western Michigan University. Kalamazoo, MI. 2009

Miller, Christopher L., and George R. Hamell. “A New Perspective on Indian-white Contact: Cultural Symbols and Colonial Trade.” Journal of American History 73 (2): 311-328. 1986

Geoscience News and Information. Elements of color in stained and colored glass. Geology.com, 2013. http://geology.com/articles/color-in-glass.shtml

Playing in the Mud

Hello, my name is Stephen; I‘m a Western Michigan University sophomore attending the field school for archaeology here in Niles Michigan. This is my first year here at the field school and it has been splendid. We have approached the end of the third week here in Niles as the Fort St. Joseph archaeological project continues for the summer of 2013. It has been an excellent experience here working to discover what is under our feet, enlightening us with a clearer sense of what came before us. We have done so much all week, not to mention finally we have closed all the units at Lyne site.

Video: "On my way to the Stables"

Today we arrived at the site of the Fort at about 8:15am and began preparing it for our new units we are starting there for this summer. The units we prepared at the site were previously planned based on already excavated units; units where significant features were found. After a hearth and wall were excavated in the past indicating where a house would be, this happening more than once, archaeologist in the project used detailed  information on French houses in this time period and these findings to produce where the rest of the houses are most certainly to be encountered. This is where we come in. I had quite a refreshing day today working at the Fort site.

As one portion of us closed up Lyne site I did very nice work in the mud. Not even half way into my time out in the field I had the job of walking out into the wet, mucky bank of the St. Joseph River to place the end of the water pump that we needed. All this came about because I happened to be the only one in high rubber boots today. I had water in my boots all day in the field, even after pouring them out. To add to these watery adventures John and I hosed down the trench under the tetrapod screen and later dug out a path for the water to flow back into the river. When all the hosing and trench work was done all began on our new units.

It was pretty hot and humid outside today and we were interrupted from digging for a bit by a passing rain cloud. After the rain it got even more humid and hot to where we had more breaks in-between work to get in the shade, hydrate and rest before going back to the units. What was different about the Fort and Lyne site is that Lyne site is very shaded while the Fort site is in the path of sun. This is definitely a new environment to adapt our work to.

We found only modern artifacts in the first shoveling of our units. There were mostly pieces of glass found in each unit. We didn’t wet screen this time because we are only at the beginning layer of alluvium soil, this is not so much culturally significant when it comes to soil levels. My unit partner is Seth and we’ve got our unit floor pretty level at the base, this is something I feel good about when working on a unit. After spending the first day on our new units we packed up, freshened up and went off to the Drolets' where we had a pool party. The party was great and we had delicious food there. I can remember the tortillas, baked beans, and pulled pork sandwiches very well. All in all this was a splendid day and has been a splendid week for us here for the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project.

Video: "Pool party at the Drolets'"

-Stephen Staten

On Our Way to FSJ

The modern  feature in the upper left corner in Hayden and Alexis's unit.

Today was a great day in the field, even though it was hot and muggy. We started work around 8:15am on the Lyne site. Most units at that time were very close to being done since majority of us were hitting sterile soil around 40cmBD. However there were two units (out of the six that we had) that were taking longer than planned. These two units were showing quite a lot of human activity and producing a lot of artifacts. The first unit that showed a feature was Hayden and Alexis’s. Their feature resembled a modern trash pit based on the artifacts that we found (a metal can, plastic bag and a few aluminum foil balls). Although this was not material associated with the fort it was still very exciting to find because it was the first feature that many of us got to see. This feature did disappear around 40cmBD though. 

The potential feature uncovered in Aaron and Che's unit.

The second unit that showed quite a bit of promise was Aaron and Che’s. Their unit ended up being dug down to about 50cmBD (a whole 10cmBD deeper than everyone else’s unit) and was still showing quite a bit of cultural material. But since we are all so egger and excited to get down to the Fort site they are choosing to close up this unit and keep documentation on it for further excavation, if needed.

When people started to finish their units it was very exciting, at least it was for my partner and I! This was the first unit we have ever dug and it felt like an accomplishment, my pit partner and I even took photos of us standing in it, that it how accomplished we felt! Even though there weren’t very many artifacts in ours it still felt like we contributed information on the Lyne site to further archeologist.

 
 After we were done with our work we were asked to help down at the Fort site. While entering the site from the short walk between the Lyne and Fort site I saw two people I have never seen before. They were actually our guest speaker Keith Widder and his wife. They were both very nice and welcoming.

It's awesome to see how dedicated people are to this project!

The guest lecture that we had tonight was by Keith Widder (like stated before) and it was called “Beyond Pontiac’s Shadow A Fresh look at “The War Called Pontiac’s”.” The turnout for this lecture was outstanding. We ended up filling the whole basement of the Niles library lecture room and have now been promoted to a bigger room that is located on the main floor. It is nice to see how many people come out to support a great cause and learn about interesting topics. This lecture focused on why Fort Michilimackinac and its surrounding area were not affected that greatly by Native American conflicts. This was because of the alliance that the British had with the Native Americans in the area. What I found quite interesting throughout this lecture was how Native Americans would protect some of the British men because they considered them friends.

 

Overall today was a great day! There was no rain to chase us out of the field, we had great company for dinner (Keith and his wife) and ended the night with an interesting lecture on a very relevant topic to our research. Thank you to everyone who came out to the lecture today!

-Andrea

Finishing Up at Lyne

The trash pit found in one of the excavation units

On this Tuesday, the goal was to begin finishing up at the Lyne site for this field season. At the end of today, one excavation unit was completely finished and filled back in, and the rest are nearing completion. By tomorrow, everyone should be starting in at the Fort. So far, there have been several finds, though very few pertaining to the time period of the Fort. However, several finds are still interesting. In one of the excavation unites, a feature has been uncovered: a trash pit. Though it is of more modern times, it is giving us some experience pedestaling (digging around an artifact or feature to observe it in situ), as well as recording feature context. This will hopefully be more useful at the Fort St. Joseph site in the coming days, where we are more likely to find features.

Also today, in one of the units, an item that at first appeared to be suspiciously skull-like in resemblance was uncovered. But, it became apparent as it was being pedestaled around that it was in fact just an ordinary rock, most likely a specimen of a stone high in kaolin content like kaolinite, or high in calcium such as a limestone. However, in the first stages of excavation around it, it was of interest and some anxiety. If it had been a human skull, it would have closed down excavation on the site while it was being investigated by police to determine if it was a recent murder and later NAGPRA officials. Due to weather, we already have had some delays, and this would have definitely put us behind schedule for this field season. In the end though, it really was just a natural occurring specimen. In another nearby unit, some fragments of tooth enamel and calcined bone were uncovered, though these are most likely from a deer.

Excavations at the Lyne site are close to being done and a variety of artifacts have been uncovered. Many are evidence of the more modern use of the surrounding area as a landfill, which include glass Clorox bottles from the mid twentieth century and pieces of metal cans. Some, found in the plow zone, bear testament to the area once being a farm. Examples found this year include a flat iron disc, rusty nails ranging in size from a couple centimeters to around ten centimeters if straightened out. As far as artifacts that date from the same period as the fort, however, there was a general paucity: all that was found that seems to date from the eighteenth century is some lead shot. This scarcity, however, tells us that this particular area of the site was not a major area for activity.

               

Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Mike Zimmerman came for a visit to the site

In addition to all of these artifacts, however, chert and jasper flakes and possible cores have been discovered in several units. Though piles of debitage have clearly been scattered through plowing and natural occurrences and the flakes found throughout all of the units are fewer in number than would be produced when creating a stone tool, there are a variety of sizes with some change in material and found in several levels (in some units, actually increasing in frequency with depth), suggesting a longer period of habitation that predated the fort. Though we don’t know much about the age of these flakes, the area around Fort St. Joseph was clearly a site of activity for perhaps thousands of years before the arrival of the French fort.

As we are wrapping up the Lyne site, everyone is anticipating the coming days excavating in the flood plain in which the remnants of the fort are located. Though there doesn’t seem to have been any extravagant finds yet this field season, as archaeologists we still have gained valuable insight into this area very close to the fort. We also still have several weeks of excavation at the fort site, especially working with some features that were identified in previous seasons.