Abstract
Investigations at two sites in southeastern North America have yielded an unanticipated abundance of European artifacts that largely date to the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries CE. On other sites in the region, such objects have been documented in mortuary and special-use contexts. However, the volume and provenience of these recent finds, many of which were recovered in apparently domestic loci, are suggestive of a more secular context than is typical. These assemblages indicate that, even in the early era of Contact, Native Americans had developed a variety of ways to obtain European goods that were equally important as gifting. Despite strides that are being made in research on European commodities in Indigenous contexts, comparative studies continue to be hampered by lack of consistency in recovery techniques.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the three reviewers of this article, who have helped us to tighten up our reasoning. Investigation of the Glass site was primarily sponsored and funded by Fernbank Museum of Natural History, with additional support from the National Geographic Society (CRE Grant # 8765-10.) Permission to explore the site was granted by Pat and Wilson Thorpe, and by Jennifer Thorpe. Collaborations with Frankie Snow, Spencer Barker, Jeffrey Glover, Rachel Hensler, Chet Walker, and Wes Patterson were invaluable, as was the enthusiastic participation of dozens of students and volunteers. Funding for research at the Stark Farm site was provided by the Chickasaw Nation and the National Geographic Society (CRE Grant #9831-16). The Chickasaw Explorers program was instrumental to the success of the field portions of the project. John O’Hear, John Lieb, and Glenn Beverly deserve a major thanks for their logistical support and archaeological insights.
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Legg, J.B., Blanton, D.B., Cobb, C.R. et al. An Appraisal of the Indigenous Acquisition of Contact-Era European Metal Objects in Southeastern North America. Int J Histor Archaeol 23, 81–102 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-018-0458-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-018-0458-1