Indigenous Appropriations of Spanish Metal Goods in Southeastern North America

Summary

Broadly speaking, iron and copper-alloy objects of Spanish origin in southeastern North America seem to fall into three categories that variably dominate from one site to another: 1) essentially unaltered; 2) trade goods modified by Europeans to conform to Native American demand; 3) assemblages that consist of both categories 1 and 2, but were re-worked by Native Americans. This diversity was a complex product of the convergence of structure, agency, and serendipity. The timing and nature of Spanish expeditions and settlements shaped the accessibility and even the value attached to objects, while Indigenous appropriations of those goods reflected local responses to novelty and opportunity.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Material Encounters and Indigenous Transformations in the Early Colonial Americas   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15210