An Examination of Jesuit (Iconographic) Rings from the Fort St. Joseph Site in Niles, MI

Part of the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological project

Author(s): Elizabeth Ann Sylak

Year: 2010

Summary

First circulated by French traders and Jesuit missionaries on their visits to New France in the 17th and 18th centuries, copper-alloy finger rings bearing Jesuit and secular iconography are found wherever French traders or colonists ventured. Fort St. Joseph was a Jesuit mission and later both a trading post and a military garrison near the modern city of Niles, Michigan. The fort allowed the French to gain better control of southern Michigan and easier access to the Mississippi River and important trade routes. The Jesuit rings found at Fort St. Joseph constitute a unique and large assemblage that adds to a growing body of knowledge on Jesuit rings and allows for further speculation as to their exact function. Because the rings are religiously, economically, and politically charged objects they can be used to better understand the people and places that they were recovered from. In this study, I present a review of previous literature on Jesuit rings, specifically their manufacture, use, and distribution. In addition, I provide an analysis of the rings from Fort St. Joseph and attempt to compare Fort St. Joseph's assemblage to other sites where the rings have been found.

Cite this Record

An Examination of Jesuit (Iconographic) Rings from the Fort St. Joseph Site in Niles, MI. Elizabeth Ann Sylak. 2010 ( tDAR id: 373403) ; doi:10.6067/XCV80C4TG1

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Keywords

Culture
British Colonial • Euroamerican • French Colonial • Historic • Historic Native American • Miami • Potawatomi

Material
Building Materials • Ceramic • Dating Sample • Fauna • Fire Cracked Rock • Glass • Ground Stone • Macrobotanical • Metal • Shell • Wood

Site Name
Fort St. Joseph

Site Type
Archaeological Feature • Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex • Domestic Structures • Hearth • Historic Structure • Hunting / Trapping • Midden • Non-Domestic Structures • Palisade • Pit • Post Hole / Post Mold • Resource Extraction / Production / Transportation Structure or Features • Rock Alignment • Settlements • Structure • Trash Midden

Investigation Types
Data Recovery / Excavation • Ethnohistoric Research • Geophysical Survey • Historic Background Research • Reconnaissance / Survey • Research Design / Data Recovery Plan • Site Evaluation / Testing

General
Cultural Interaction • Ethnogenesis • Fort St. Joseph • Fur Trade • garrison • Jesuit • Jesuit Rings • mission • Public Archaeology • Trading Post

Geographic Keywords
Great Lakes • Pays d'en Haut

Temporal Keywords
Colonial Period

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1691 to 1781

Spatial Coverage

min long: -86.285; min lat: 41.794 ; max long: -86.238; max lat: 41.827 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Michael Nassaney

File Information

  Name Size Creation Date Date Uploaded Access
an-examination-of-jesuit-iconographic-rings-from-the-fort-st-j... 3.83mb Dec 26, 2011 7:21:06 PM Public