Wendat Use of Introduced Copper-Base Metal: Evolution of forms and motifs from the Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries

Summary

European-introduced smelted copper and/or brass kettles and sheet metal were used as raw material by Native peoples in Northeastern North America beginning with their earliest contacts and it continued to be used well into the Colonial period. This material was recycled from the introduced shapes into forms, such as aglets, tubular beads and triangular projectile points, which were more useful to their creators. This paper presents the analysis of twelve assemblages of copper-base metal artifacts from Wendat sites in their traditional homeland, dating approximately from 1580 to 1649 A.D., combining ethnohistorical research into Wendat trading practices with visual examination of the artifact assemblages. This research defines the forms produced, delineates the manufacturing techniques used by Wendat metalworkers and investigates the distribution of these artifacts across this region. It further compares similarities and differences between these early forms and those used in later material culture objects, particularly those crafted for the souvenir trade during the Nineteenth Century.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014   •
• Archaeology and the Evolution of the Cultural Traditions of 16th-17th Century Wendat Sites

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-74,06