the alloy, with discoloration occumng when
the nickel content ranges below 25% (Vickers
1923: 458-60). Surface whitening of lower
grade alloys of this type was accomplished by
Nickel Silver: An Aspect of
early manufacturers through the use of sulMaterial Culture Change in the furic acid baths. Although the dominant metallic constituents used in the production of
Upper Great Lakes Indian Trade nickel silver consist largely of copper, nickel,
and zinc, other metals were often included
ABSTRACT
(Table I), depending on the purpose to which
the alloy was to be employed.
The industrial expansion of Western society during the
Besides lead and iron, a wide range of eleearly 19th century fostered extensive modifications
within both the organizational and material aspects of ments occumng as impurities in the alloy were
Euroamerican culture and that of other technologi- also present, a fact which rendered quality
cally dependent groups. This paper addresses itself to a control over the early productions of the
single facet of this problem as illustrated through the nickel silver industry virtually impossible
introduction and subsequent adaptive utilization of
(Adams 1960: 104). The better grades of alloy
German or nickel silver as a precious metal substitute
produced
during the 1830s were reported as
in the Great Lakes Indian trade during the second quarter of the century. While the decline of profit gains being indistinguishable from silver except “by
gleaned from the fur industry may have played a part in fracture” (Holland 1836:49). This situation
this transition, other economic and cultural factors would obviously be critical in an archaeologiappear far more critical in understanding the motivacal context where the two might be easily contions behind this selective process.
fused. While such techniques as X-ray fluorescence analysis might be used in identificaDevelopment of Nickel Silver
tion, simpler tests can also be performed.
Although nickel silver and silver appear simi- Since nickel silver is a metallurgically defined
lar in visual examination, certain observable alloy containing no silver, a determination as
traits are occasionally present which generally to the presence or absence of this metal
allow for their segregation. When subjected to through chemical analysis would be a prelimiintensive polishing, for instance, some nickel nary step in identifying the alloy. This can be
silver specimens exhibit a coppery-red or accomplished by immersing a specimen
yellowish tinge. The intensity of this effect is sample from the artifact in question in a 50%
dependent upon the compositional qualities of solution of nitric acid (HNO,) and distilled
C. STEPHAN DEMETER
TABLE 1
RECOMMENDEDNICKEL SILVER COMPOSITIONS
Knives
and
Forks
Snuffers
and
Trays
For
Rolling
For
Soldering
Most White,
Brittle
and Hard
~~
Copper
Nickel
Zinc
Lead
Iron
50
25
25
00
00
-100
(Holland 1836:4J3)
55
22
23
00
00
-100
60
20
20
00
00
-100
57
20
20
3
00
53
22
23
00
2
-100
-100
AN ASPECT OF MATERIAL CULTURE CHANGE IN THE UPPER GREAT LAKES INDIAN TRADE
water. The addition of ammonium chloride
(NH,CL) to the medium will produce a white
precipitate, silver chloride, if silver is present.
Documentary evidence relative to the development and subsequent spread of the
nickel silver industry in Europe remains relatively obscure. According to one source, the
alloy was first developed and commercially
manufactured at Hildburghausen, Germany,
during the early 19th century. Its general use,
however, was reported as occumng only after
1830 (Alberts 1953: 77). Other investigators
have specified an 1825 date for the alloy’s invention and have further identified its introduction into North America trade as dating to
the post 1832 period (Douglas and Maniott
1942). The reliability of these statements, as
they relate to the alloy’s place and date of invention, are extremely questionable. A contemporary article which appeared in the October 1836 issue of the Journal of the American
Zttstitute referred to the alloy as “Packfong”
or the “white copper of China,” noting that it
had been “used a long time by the Chinese”
(Holland 1836: 48).
The use of pai-Thung (Le., white copper) in
China appears actually to date as early as the
8th century A.D. By the opening of the 17th
century, Chinese technological works such as
the Great Pharmacopoeia (Pen Tshao Kang
Mu) by Li Shih-Chen and the Exploitation of
the Works of Nature (Thien Kung Khai Wu)
by Sung Ying-Hsing reported the alloy as being composed of copper, zinc oxide (lu Kan
Shih), and another element identified as phishih. This latter term normally refers to arsenious acid and has been interpreted in this
context as being niccolite, an arsenide of
nickel (NiAs), found in cobalt (Howard-White
1963: 14). Nickel was never identified as an
element in Oriental science and was only distinguished in the West in 1751.
During the mid-18th century articles of
nickel silver made up at least a small portion
of the Chinese-European trade. Triangularly
shaped bar ingots of this alloy were at that
time being shipped from Yunnan to Canton
109
where artisans cast them into numerous forms
such as basins, ladels, mugs, and other articles
acceptable to European taste. Throughout this
period, most Europeans believed pai-Thung to
be a metal rather than an alloy, and as late as
1775 one enterprising Englishman went so far
as to smuggle a supposedly unprocessed nugget of the ore out of China (Howard-White
1%3: 42-3).
Metallurgical analysis conducted the following year by the Swedish Chemist Gustav von
Engstrom indicated the alloy composition of
pai-Thung as being copper (40.6), nickel
(18.75), and zinc (31.25). Although the remaining 9.4% of the alloy composition was not
specified, it probably consisted largely of iron.
Such proved to be the case when further tests
were conducted by A. Fyfe, in 1822, revealing
a composition of copper (40.4),nickel (31.6),
zinc (25.4), and iron (2.6) (Howard-White
1%3: 44; Holland 1836: 48). During the same
period that Engstrom was conducting his examinations, a white copper alloy was reportedly being manufactured in the Shul mining district of Saxony. As with its Chinese
counterpart, the German product, known as
Luhler white copper, consisted of copper (88),
nickel (8.7), iron (1.7), and sulphur (.6)
(Adams 1960:104). Both alloys lacked ductility, were brittle, and easily broken. All were
reportedly of cast manufacture. The production of this alloy was relatively small and almost totally restricted to the manufacture of
items such as spurs and gun mountings
(Vickers 1923: 456).
As a marketable item nickel silver was apparently of only marginal importance in
Europe until the second decade of the 19th
century. At that time significant cost differentials began to emerge in the relative values of
gold and silver as a result of decreased silver
production in Latin America during the revolutionary period. According to British Consular Records, the ratio of gold and silver produced in Spanish America between 1790 and
1809 was approximately 1:16.4. During the
period from 1810 to 1829 this figure had been
110
reduced to as little as 1:9. When considering
the output of recently discovered ore deposits
in both the United States and Asiatic Russia,
the ratio of gold to silver production by the
1820s was estimated as being set on a scale of
about 1:7 (M’Culloch 1854: 34445). While
other reserves of silver were available, such as
stored bullion, coin, and plate, the market
price demanded for the metal witnessed a
material rise. In 1821 the London price for
437.5 grains, or one ounce, of standard silver
averaged 4 s Ild or about $1.411 (Cayley 1830:
117). By 1836 the price had increased to
approximately 6 s Ild ($1.90) per ounce, and in
1853, rose even further to 7 s Id ($2.04) per
ounce (Farmer 1886: 15).
Substantial increases in the market price of
silver also occurred in North America. In 1849
an ounce of standard silver was evaluated at
about $2.00, while gold was figured at $16.00
per ounce. This essentially created a market
ratio of 1:8 operating in opposition to the
federally legislated standard, adopted in 1834,
of 1 :16.002 (Comstock 1849: 154). Needless to
say this disparity led to serious problems in
the nation’s monetary system. The silver dollar, for example, had by 1837 increased in its
European market value to approximately
$1.03, a fact which tended to drive silver coinage out of circulation. (Bakewell 1936:32).
The resulting scarcity of specie, especially in
the frontier settlements, had the effect of further inflating the value of currency. During the
early 184Os, specie in the Saginaw region of
Michigan was reported to be circulating at a
rate of more than 30%above face value. Thus,
the premium placed on a dollar meant that its
purchasing power in actual goods or services
IThe rate of exchange employed in this study is based on
data provided by Farmer for silver prices during the 18331844 period; Id being estimated at about $.024, IS at $.288
and4Sat$l.l52(Farmer 1886: 15-6). Theactualexchange
rates employed by merchants in Detroit in 1855 placed a
much higher premium on United States currency quite
possibly because of its greater silver content. At that time
$.02 was estimated as being equivalent to Id, $.25 at 1s Id,
and $1 .OO at 4 s 4d(Johnson 1855: 249).
HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOL.UME 14
was equal to at least $1.30 (Dumond
1%6:705). It was not until 1853 that Congress
reduced the silver content of United States
coins, thus raising the face value beyond the
bullion content and rendering their export to
the European silver market as unprofitable.
This measure was only enacted after the production of gold from the newly discovered ore
deposits of California and Australia had further reduced the ratio of gold to silver output
to about 1:4 (Mulhall 1880532). By 1859 the
value of an ounce of silver accordingly increased to 7 s 8d or about $2.2 1 on the London
Exchange (Farmer 1886: 16).
The continued rise in the value of silver
throughout this period opened a ready market
to nickel silver manufacturers. In 1824 two
factories producing the alloy were operating in
the Schneeburg district of Saxony. Under the
product names of “Argentan” and “Alpakka”
a variety of cast manufactured wares such as
forks, spoons, and other household goods began to appear in Central Europe. By 1830 consignments of arsenical ores from Saxony were
being shipped to two London firms, Johnson,
Matthey and Company and F. and S. R.
Topping, which were then engaged in the
manufacture of the alloy (Howard-White
1963:45-7).
The expansion of the nickel silver industry
in Europe, as noted by Alberts (1953), was
largely restricted to the post-1830 period. The
exportation of nickel silver articles to the
North American market probably dates no
earlier than sometime shortly after the development of the English industry. However,
both the quantity and variety of goods entering the United States during this early period
was undoubtedly limited, as suggested
through such source materials as contemporary newspaper accounts. An article which
appeared in the Detroit Journal and Michigan
Advertiser illustrates the fact that as late as
1834 the alloy was still a relatively unknown
material which the newspaper’s editor predicted might someday usurp the position of
silver as a precious metal.
AN ASPECT OF MATERIAL CULTURE CHANGE IN THE UPPER GREAT LAKES INDIAN TRADE
111
alloy from which their articles were produced.
The use of imported ingots, as produced by
Johnson, Matthey and Company, or the sheet
metal of Askin and Merry is far more probable. The use of the designation “American
Silver Composition,” however, may be suggestive of a domestic source. This application
By 1837 the expense of German silver goods was in fact coined by a “foreigner,” Dr.
had dropped to one fourth the price of their Lewis Feuchtwanger, who was apparently
silver counterparts, a fact which reportedly producing articles of this alloy as early as
led many to exchange their household silver- 1834. Items of Feuchtwanger’s manufacture
ware for articles composed of this cheaper al- included spoons, forks, knives, mugs, and
loy composition (American Institute 1837: other tablewares which were presumably
502). This decline in cost probably reflects a executed by casting (Adams 1960: 102-03).
combination of factors such as the greater The initial production of a ductile nickel silver
availability of nickel silver as a result of home alloy in North America can probably be attrimanufacture and increases in the market value buted to Robert Wallace. In 1836 after having
purchased a formula for the alloy during a visit
of silver.
In addition certain technological innova- to New York City, Wallace began producing
tions had by 1833 allowed for the production nickel silver sheeting out of a rolling mill in
of the alloy in sheet form. This article, first Waterbury, Connecticut (Lathrop 1926:36).
Although exact information relative to the
manufactured by the Birmingham, England,
firm of Askin and Merry, had the effect of development and output of the American ingreatly expanding the uses to which the alloy dustry is sketchy, certain inferential evidence
could be put, thereby also increasing its mar- is reflected through federal tariff legislation.
ketability on virtually a world-wide basis The fact that nickel silver was not included
among those articles subjected to customs du(Howard-White 1%3 :69-7 1).
The North America industry was also initi- ties in the 1833 tariff may be considered a good
ated during this period and was originally indicator of its relative unimportance as an
centered in the New York City area. The item of domestic manufacture. However, in
“several manufacturers” operating in that the subsequent acts of 1842 and 1846, a 30%
vicinity in 1836 were described by one ob- levy was imposed upon all foreign manufacserver as being “mostly foreigners and tured articles of this alloy entering the country
mountebanks” (Holland 1836:49). Their pro- (Jones 1851:9).
By 1846 a Connecticut firm, the Cowles
ducts not only included a full range of tablewares but also other articles such as “folding Manufacturing Company, operating out of
door rollers, bellpulls, ventilators for hot air, Tariffville, had commenced the production of
railings, grates, and fenders” (American Insti- silverplated nickel silver cutlery. The followtute 1837502). By 1838 one manufacturer, ing year the Roger’s Brothers Company of
William Chandless, advertised a range of Hartford also began production. Their wares
tablewares of specific designs which he was consisted of nickel silver spoons and forks
prepared to produce after having made an ini- which the firm was apparently “importing”
tial investment of $800.00 for “dies, stamps, from European sources (May 1947:18, 27).
presses, rollers, etc. “(American Institute
Silver and the Great Lakes Indian Trade
1838:160).
It is highly unlikely that any of these early
The use of Euroamencan manufactured silmanufacturers was actually producing the raw
GERMAN SILVER-The Star says that utensils of
this newly invented metal “look as well and last full as
long as silver,” at one third the cost. We have no doubt
of the value of German, but if it is in the two qualities of
appearance and durability as good as silver, then farewell to the value of silver, that value rests wholly upon
its value in the useful arts (Advertiser 1834:2).
112
ver ornaments in the Great Lakes Indian trade
was recognized by Quimby as among the
single most important elements distinguishing
the Late Historic Contact period (Quimby
1966:91). This phase is temporally fvted within
a 1760 to 1820 date range; the former date
representing the collapse of the French regime
in North America and the latter being the approximate point when the fur trade ceased being a viable factor in the further economic
development of the Great Lakes region. During this period the tribal group existed as a
semiautonomous political entity with its
members forming a critical link in the procurement of the region’s fur resources. The
expansion of the fur trade during the midcentury fostered the development of a complex set of socioeconomic relationships between the Euroamencan and Indian communities. This situation was further complicated as
the newly established American Republic began to compete with the British for political
and economic control over the region. The influx of goods, many of which were designed
specifically for this trade, had a dramatic
effect upon native society, especially in the
realm of material culture. By at least 1780 the
inventory of native manufactures had been
almost totally substituted by articles of
European origin, creating what Quimby was
to refer to as a “Pan-Indian” material culture
(Quimby 1966: 140). At about the same time
the use of European manufactured silver ornaments began to reach massive proportions
(Quimby 1937:71; Barbeau 1942:lO). As a
medium of trade, ornaments of this type continued to remain a significant element in the
commerce conducted between the Great
Lakes Indian and European trader for the next
50 years. While having arbitrarily designated
1820 as the termination date for the Late Historic period, Quimby had earlier postulated
the continued occurrence of trade silver ornaments in a temporal context extending
through at least the succeeding decade
(Quimby 1937:71).
The period, from about 1820 to 1840, wit-
HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 14
nessed a rapid decline of the fur trade as an
important factor in the regional economy of
the Upper Great Lakes and also a marked
transition in the relationships which the trade
had previously fostered between the Indian
and European. The collapse of the fur trade,
combined with the destruction of the semiautonomous position of the tribe at the close
of the War of 1812 and the implementation of
the Indian Removal Policy, effectively opened
the region to white settlement.
While the forced removal of Indian peoples
from areas of intensive Euroamencan settlement such as in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois was
effectively carried out, the impact of this
policy in such states as Michigan and Wisconsin was blunted by the fact that much of the
land occupied by these groups, especially in
the more northerly areas, was generally unsuitable for intensive agricultural development. Those who remained were either resettled on reservations or continued to occupy
unorganized parcels of land within tracts
which had been relinquished through treaty.
The economic base of these communities
tended to become more diffuse in its relationship to the white trader. While hunting and fur
trapping still constituted important economic
activities, other items such as fish and maple
sugar were rapidly growing in demand at the
expanding white settlements to the south.
As early as 1826 Thomas L. McKenny
noted that the latter two foodstuffs formed a
significant portion of the trade conducted in
the Sault Ste. Marie area with Whitefish being
“sold as low as two and three cents a piece”
and sugar at “about ten cents per pound”
(McKenny 1972: 160). Similarly, the Chippewa
of the Saginaw Bay area were reported to have
been conducting an active fishing trade with
the white settlers entering that region during
the early 1840s. One recent arrival noted during this period that he could buy enough fish
from the Indians for 25 cents to provide his
family of nine with a full meal (Dumond
1966:257).
Besides supplying the white community
AN ASPECT OF MATERIAL CULTURE CHANGE IN THE UPPER GREAT LAKES INDIAN TRADE
113
with a variety of locally procured food
sources, the trade in Indian handicrafts had by
the late 1830s developed into a rapidly expanding commercial venture. As noted in two
advertisements placed by the Detroit furrier
and hat manufacturer, I. C. Stephens, the sale
of these articles was to a large extent directed
towards the region’s growing tourist traffic:
The lack of any mention of silver ornaments or
similar gewgaws as being available through this
supplier may be signifcant. But whether this
should be construed as representing the elimination of such items from the trade is doubtful. As indicated in another advertisement
which appeared later that year, the distribution of such goods to traders may well have
500 pairs Indian Moccasins, just received from Macki- been controlled by other elements of Detroit’s
naw, 500 pairs of ladies and Misses Bead Moccasins for mercantile community.
sale at the Michgan Hat, Cap and Fur Store,
171 Jefferson Avenue
I. C. Stephens
INDIAN WORK-Just received from Mackinaw, a
large and beautiful assortment of Indian Work, consisting of the following articles: Fruit Dishes, Trays, Work
Boxes, Baskets, Recticules, Needle Boxes, Pin
Cushions, Mococks, Moccasins, and a variety of other
articles. Travellers desirous to obtain presents for their
friends, cannot find a neater article than the above. For
sale at the Michigan Hat, Cap and Fur Store,
171 Jefferson Avenue
(Advertiser 183934)
The trade with the Indian during the 1830s
shifted from the more or less specialized domain of the fur trader to that of the general
merchant and country pedlar. While certain
articles diagnostic of the earlier phases of the
Late Historic period were eliminated, substitutes became available. As late as the 184Os,
the enterprising backwoods merchant had a
range of especially sorted “Indian Goods’’
available to him through the forwarding
houses at Detroit.
INDIAN GOODS
& BROTHERS
JUST RECEIVED-RANDOLPH
have, by recent arrivals, received a full assortment of
Indian Goods, consisting in part of:
550 pairs 3, 2-95, 2 and 1% point blankets,
90 do. Save List Clothes
40 do. Broad Clothes-ako, Shawls, Beads Mirrors,
Vermillion, Cartouch and Scalping Knives Garterings,
Rings, Wampum, Worsted Syams, Levantime Hdk’s,
Gun-Flints, Pipes, Etc. Etc.-which together with a
full assortment of desirable DRY GOODS are offered
at wholesale.
exclusively.
RANDOLPH & BROTHERS
Jefferson Avenue, Detroit
(Advertiser 1845a:2)
SILVER SPOONS-An
assortment on hand and
manufactured to order; silver Ear Bobs, Broaches and
bands, for the Indian trade.
GEO. DOTY
162 Jefferson Avenue
(Advertiser 1845b34)
The evidence presently available indicates
that Doty was not a trained silversmith but
rather advertised articles which were either
produced by those in his employ or purchased
from other manufacturers (Simons 1%9:89).
His business operation was not restricted to
silversmithing but seems to have been directed more towards that of a wholesale distributor of goods suitable for the pedlar trade.
As a facet of this commerce, the use of “silver” ornaments obviously constituted a continuing element in the Indian trade of the
Upper Great Lakes at least as late as the mid1840s.
The declining use of ornaments of this type
beginning in the 1820s was due only in part to
the decline of the fur industry. Probably of far
greater significance, as has already been
noted, was the meteoric rise in the price of
silver during this period. As early as 1810,
Joseph Varnum, the factor of the United
States post at Mackinac, noted that the price
of government contracted silver trinkets was
so high “. . . that the natives even laugh when
the price is mentioned.” Ear bobs sold at the
post were received by the government at a
cost of $.40 per pair. When the cost of transport and operating expenses were calculated,
the retail sale price amounted to $67 per pair,
a figure which Varnum reported as being
“ . . . far beyond anything heretofore given
114
for silver trinkets only weighting 6%
cents . . . ” (Carter 1942:331).
By 1820 the price charged for a pair of ear
bobs manufactured by Chauncey S. Payne, a
Detroit silversmith, was approximately $1.09.
The cost of other articles ranged from $06 for
a small broach to $8.73 per pair for arm bands:
ear wheels brought about $1.49, gorgets about
$1.79, and large broaches approximately $1.99
(Dain 1956:150). While these items undoubtedly served to some degree as a means
of wealth display in native society, contemporary writers indicate that they were largely
viewed only as ornaments (Carter 1942:331;
Morgan 190150). To the traders operating
among the Great Lakes tribes during this period, the rising cost of silver goods would have
created a serious impediment to the success of
their operations. The options available to
maintain a viable profit margin would have
necessitated either the elimination of silver as
a regular stock item or the implementation of a
general markup in the sale price of such articles. Both procedures would have had the
obvious effect of drastically reducing the
amount of silver being traded, a situation
which is indicated archeologically and which
has been established as an attribute marking
the close of the Late Historic period.
Among other options that would have been
open was the substitution of high quality silver
goods with either base silver alloys, plated
goods, or other nonprecious metals. The
former possibility, the use of base silver
alloys, was a constant element of the Indian
trade as is indicated in a letter from Peter
Waraxall to Sir William Johnson dated 27 July
1756:
I find the Gorgets with the Kings Arms and your
Cyper made of good silver and to do service will come
higher than 26s apiece. The Silver Smith here (New
York) says those at Albany if made for that price must
be very base Metal (Sullivan 1922523).
Information gained from the analysis of two
silver arm bands associated with a burial
(20WN51) excavated in a housing development in the Detroit suburb of Melvindale indi-
HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 14
cated an alloy composition of 85% silver and
15% copper (Pilling 1958). The author has
been unable to establish whether such a high
silver content was common in the manufacture of Indian trinkets. It is, however, worth
noting that the ratio of silver to copper occurring in these two specimens is close to the 90%
silver composition of coins minted in the
United States during the first half of the 19th
century. The bulk of the silverworks produced
by smiths, especially those operating out of
the frontier communities, consisted of circulating specie which was itself a fairly uncommon
commodity and often had to be imported
(Barbeau 1942:ll). In 1821 the use of cut
money in lieu of small circulating change was
outlawed as a medium of payment in Detroit
because of the practice of clipping which reduced the size of each of the eight bits to less
than their value of about 12W. The pieces
were reportedly removed from circulation,
. . . sold by the ounce, and used for the
manufacture of silver ornaments for the Indians” (Trowbridge 1877:382).The ornaments
marketed by Chauncey S. Payne in Detroit
during the early 1820s were probably manufactured from coin silver and commanded a
premium price unlike the silver trinkets which
the American Fur Company was distributing
at about the same period. The small broaches
Payne produced sold at about 6$ apiece; those
which the American Fur Company handled
went for $2.57 per hundred, or a little over
2M$ apiece (Alberts 195352). While the latter
would surely have possessed an advantage in
dealing with mass quantities of goods, this
could hardly be enough to explain the rather
significant cost differential which existed between the two articles, especially if one further considers the fact that Payne’s price included only the manufacturer’s markup and
did not include the cost of transport and operating expenses which the distributor faced. It
is more likely that the silver content of the
items handled by the fur company was far below the standard of coin. A measure which
would have greatly reduced their intrinsical
“
AN ASPECT OF MATERIAL CULTURE CHANGE IN THE UPPER GREAT LAKES INDIAN TRADE
value but also greatly increased their marketability as a cheap temporary ornament.
The archaeological literature dealing with
the presence of nickel silver trade ornaments
stylistically attributable to the Late Historic
period in the Great Lakes region is extremely
scarce. It was not until the analysis of the
Matthews’ site (2OCL61) material that any
substantive information dealing with the
occurrence of this alloy became available.
This site was initially discovered and excavated by the late Clyde B. Anderson, an amateur archaeologist, in 1966 and subsequently
reported upon six years later by Charles E.
Cleland of Michigan State University. Its location was adjatent to the Maple River on the
boundary line dividing Gratiot and Clinton
counties in Central Michigan.
A description of the flat metal trade ornaments recovered from the site was presented
in Cleland’s report (1972) and will not be dealt
with in any detail in the present analysis. The
four burials from which these specimens were
collected have been identified as being of
probable Chippewa ethnic affiliation; they
consisted of two adult males, an adult female,
and a probable adolescent female. The articles
recovered with the two male interments
(Burials 1 and 2) consisted of silver, silver
plated, and nickel silver ornaments, with the
latter alloy reportedly comprising the bulk of
115
the collected sample (Table 2). Of the silver
objects, three gorgets, all were associated
with Burial 2. Two of the specimens measured
125.5 mm in diameter with one bearing the
mark of Robert Cruickshank, a Montreal silversmith active from about 1774 to 1809. The
other gorget, measuring 114 mm, bears the
touchmarks of “BP” and “PJD” attributable
to the firm of Jean Baptiste Piquette and Pierre
Jean Desnoyers, which operated out of
Detroit from 1803 until 1805 (Simons 1%9:702). The silver plated ornaments associated
with the male burials included two fragmentary broaches decorated with a series of elaborated geometric perforations and two circular
gorgets. These specimens were recovered
from Burial 1, measure 166 mm in diameter,
and are both marked with the initials “P-H”
indicating their manufacture by either Pierre
Huguet dit Latour or his son, both of whom
operated out of Montreal from approximately
1770 until 1829 (Buhler 1%9:Fig. 23). The
remainder of the male associated ornaments
consisted of nickel silver alloy articles. Those
with Burial 1 included a large broach (80 mm)
decorated with a single row of elongated oval
perforations along the outer margin and two
inner rows of concave sided diamond shaped
perforations, two engraved circular gorgets
(143 mm), two engraved arm bands, and an ear
wheel (47 mm) decorated with an outer and
TABLE 2
DISTRIBUTION OF FLAT METAL ORNAMENTS (2OCL61)
Ear
Broaches
1
2
3
4
TOTALS
Gorgets
3
1
9 0 2
2
2
Wheels
2
1
Ann
Bands
2
2
Hair
Pipes
2
11
8
90
1
1
1
91
2
3
4
2
1
4
2
110
116
inner row of circularly shaped punched holes.
The nickel silver articles recovered from
Burial 2 included two hair pipes, two engraved
arm bands, and two engraved circular gorgets
measuring about 74 mm in diameter.
The items associated with Burial 3, an adult
female, consisted of 90 miniature nickel silver
broaches which ranged in size from 21 mm
(48), 16 mm (40) and 12 mm (2). A single large
silver broach (80 mm) was interred with an
adolescent in Burial 4. This specimen is described as being virtually identical in design to
the similarly sized nickel silver broach associated with Burial 1.
On the basis of these and other grave goods
associated with the Matthews site burials,
Cleland postulated their temporal placement
as being approximately 1825- 1830 (Cleland
1972: 186). This date range is at least eight
years earlier than the first known production
of ductile nickel silver sheeting, a material
which would have been essential in the production of the above articles.
The relative scarcity of nickel silver in
North America as late as 1831 is well illustrated through the fact that the New York
Customs House charged one importer a silver
duty on a European consignment of the alloy
(Adams 1%0:102). The importance of the
British industry as an early source of supply of
nickel silver to North America is strongly
hinted at through the use of the term “English
silver” as a designation for the alloy commonly employed in the United States during
this period (Holland 1836:49).
The use of nickel silver articles in the Great
Lakes Indian trade by the late 1830s and early
1840s is demonstrated through a number of
advertisements which appeared in Detroit
newspapers during that period. One of these
placed by a Cleveland based firm during the
spring of 1838 was directed to a special range
of clientele identified in bold letters as “Pedlars and Indian Traders.” Among the items
listed on sale were a broad range of “German
Goods” including such articles as spectacles,
thimbles, earrings, rings, and breast pins
HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 14
(Advertiser 1838:4). A similar advertisement,
which appeared several years later in 1846,
was placed by George Doty who offered
“Pedlars Goods” at his auction room consisting of ‘‘ . . . Dutch Pipes, . . . German silver
table . . . (and) . . . tea spoons, German silver pencils, German silver thimbles, German
silver spectacles . . . (Free Press 1846a:3).
During this same period another Detroit silversmith, Charles Piquette, offered his patrons a stock of “200 Ibs. German silver, in the
sheet. . . (Free Press 1845:3). Apparently
the venture proved successful as the following
year Piquette offered a new supply of the
alloy, referring to it as “a first rate article”
(Free Press 1846b:3). The bu(k of the nickel
silver goods entering the frontier settlements
during the 1830s were probably composed
almost exclusively of finished products. While
certain amounts of bulk metal undoubtedly
reached the shops of Western silversmiths, its
sale in that form would have been marginal
until production had far outdistanced the
needs of the silversmiths themselves, a situation which was apparently taking place by the
mid- 1840s if not earlier. The more generalized
access to the alloy in bulk form should be
readily discernible in an archaeological context as reflected in both the variety and quality
of goods encountered. The use of nickel silver
sheeting as a medium of Indian workmanship
has previously been documented by Mooney
among the Kiowa during the mid- 19th century
(Mooney 1898:3 18-19).
”
”
Conclusions
This paper has attempted to illustrate at
least in part that other factors beyond the collapse of the fur industry played a major role in
the elimination of the specialized range of silver ornaments diagnostic of Great Lakes Indian culture throughout the Late Historic
period. In this case the spiraling cost of silver
during the early 19th century rendered the
continued manufacture and trade in these articles commercially impractical. A result of
AN ASPECT OF MATERIAL CULTURE CHANGE IN THE UPPER GREAT LAKES INDIAN TRADE
this situation, as expressed archaeologically,
would be the substitution of silver ornaments
by those composed of base metal alloys or silver plate. As the importance of the trade conducted between the Euroamerican and Indian
communities continued to decline over the
succeeding years, the occurrence of these articles would have been drastically reduced and
eventually deleted entirely as a material element of native culture. This appears to have
been an ongoing process in some areas for
over as much as a 30 year period from about
1820 to 1850.
Among the more diagnostic features of this
transitional phase was the introduction of
nickel silver as a replacement for silver in the
manufacture of flat metal ornaments such as
broaches, gorgets, arm bands, and a variety of
other ornamental forms commonly associated
with the Indian trade. The presence of these
items in an archaeological context provides a
viable medium for relative dating. Nickel silver sheet metal articles which have occasionally been identified in site situations are categorically restricted to the post 1833 period for
time of manufacture. Although the production
of nickel silver and related alloys used in cast
manufacture had begun in Germany by the
mid-18th century, its use was limited. As late
as 1830 the alloy was rejected by the Shefieid
cutlerers because it was found to be too brittle
for industrial use (Kimsworth 1953: 116). Because of its crystalline structure, the conversion of the alloy into a sheet form proved impossible until further technological processes
were developed. As previously noted this was
not accomplished until 1833 when Askin and
Merry subjected their cast manufactured plate
ingots to certain annealing techniques which
served to modify the alloy’s molecular structure and render it suitable for rolling into a
ductile sheet form.
Its adaption in the manufacture of trinkets
utilized in the Great Lakes Indian trade undoubtedly dates to this time, with the initial
sources of the alloy being restricted to British
117
and possibly German producers. The subsequent manufacture of the alloy in North
America, beginning in about 1836, apparently
did not have an appreciable impact on the
market for at least the next several years. Information presently available indicates that
the commercial manufacture of Indian trade
ornaments, presumably of nickel silver alloy,
continued until as late as 1845. On the basis of
this data, the dating of such sites as the
Matthews site, where the bulk of the ornamental goods consisted of nickel silver articles,
could be fixed within a temporal range extending from 1833 to approximately 1845 or later.
The retention of these articles as an element of
material culture in Indian society was probably quite varied between groups and individuals. This was largely a result of the degree
of assimilation of group members subjected to
a more intensified range of contact situations.
During the late 184Os, Morgan noted that
among the Iroquois these ornaments were
almost totally restricted to female use (Morgan 1901:49), or more appropriately, among
that segment of the population which was less
prone to enter into contact associations and
which consistently remained a bulwark of cultural conservatism. The use of ornaments of
this type, largely among females, is known to
have continued among some groups up until as
late as the turn of the present century. As suggested by a number of investigators, these
productions were probably largely the result
of native manufacture (Alberts 1953: 72; Morgan 1901: ). While the use of coin silver obtained from circulating specie is well documented among Indian silversmiths of this later
period, the extent to which nickel silver may
have been employed remains unknown. It
may well be worth noting, however, that Indian speciality stores catering to the present
generation still offer a range of ornamental
goods generaly following traditional forms
listed under the catalogue heading of “German Silverworks” (Treaty Oak n.d.: 5; Ozark
1975: 14).
HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 14
118
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