HMN 2025: How Wyoming archaeological web site reveals Native American adornment practices within the 1700s throughout early European contact

Dr. Spencer Pelton and his colleagues have performed a complete evaluation of the River Bend web site (48NA202), Wyoming. The web site, situated close to the North Platte River in Casper, Wyoming, was excavated within the Nineteen Seventies as a part of salvage efforts previous to development leveling. Their findings have been published in Plains Anthropologist.

Despite lots of of sq. meters being excavated, it’s estimated that nearly 75% of the location was misplaced. The web site had doubtless been occupied round AD 1700–1750, thus putting the location’s occupation after Euro-American contact, however nonetheless early sufficient that the location was in a transitional part, utilizing a mixture of pre-contact and post-contact materials tradition.

At the time, the unique investigator analyzed among the recovered artifacts, figuring out that the location was doubtless occupied by folks ancestral to the Eastern Shoshone Tribe.

Dr. Pelton states, “The authentic investigator, Carolyn Buff (a co-author on this study), thought it may be Shoshone based mostly on a number of of the recovered artifacts, together with the mark sorts, steatite, and teshoas. Tri-notched arrow factors like these from River Bend are sometimes present in Shoshone websites.

“Steatite (or soapstone) is often present in websites within the Shoshone heartland of western Wyoming, most frequently carved into massive flat-bottomed bowls. Teshoas are a novel artifact kind which are principally cut up cobbles used to course of cover.

“The combination of this stuff prompt to the unique investigators that the location may be associated to a Shoshone occupation. These are all good traces of proof, however there stays the potential that different cultures used this stuff as properly.”

Despite these insights gained from evaluation of among the recovered artifacts, the complete assemblage had by no means been analyzed. Dr. Pelton and his colleagues estimate that the location contained greater than 5,000 artifacts, together with bone, stone, ocher, steel, shell, and antler, making River Bend the richest adornment assemblage in Wyoming.

“River Bend was excavated with high requirements, however the assortment had been uncared for for about 30 years previous to our involvement,” explains Dr. Pelton.

“Collections analysis all the time requires performing some ‘archaeology of archaeology’ to piece issues again collectively. It wasn’t in horrible form, however there have been labels lacking from artifacts, subject notes lacking (or undiscovered), and different fairly widespread issues that occur to collections after they’re housed in labs moderately than a repository.

“As a consequence, we have been unable to assign areas to among the adornment artifacts which will have added some interpretive depth to our spatial evaluation.”

In spite of this, the review was capable of present a complete evaluation of the assemblage. Plains Indian clothes and physique adornment typically integrated pricey or difficult-to-obtain objects. These adornments signaled standing, conflict accomplishments, and society membership, amongst different issues.

Many anthropologists are most acquainted with adornments reported in ethnographies, pictures, and photos, typically extremely influenced by post-contact commerce. The River Bend web site, being a transitional web site nonetheless early within the post-contact interval, gives a uncommon glimpse into the adornment tradition of the time.

Among the finds have been shell disk beads, a standard adornment typically discovered within the early Great Plains and different North American cultures. These have been typically strung on necklaces or documented in graves across the neck, wrists, and ankles of the deceased.

The presence of Olivella sp. shells, one other kind of decoration, have been present in small numbers all through prehistory and into the historic interval. Their restoration at River Bend signifies the occupants engaged in long-distance commerce with a purpose to acquire the marine gastropod shells.

From later historic contexts, we all know these have been worn as necklaces, sewn into shirts, and used as earrings, and it’s doubtless they served comparable functions within the pre-contact interval.

Meanwhile, the findings of each mollusk shells and elk ivory pendants present insights into adjustments in adornment practices. While shell pendants have been recovered from as early as 1500 BP, the kind discovered at River Bend isn’t seen in historic photos.

Only some work made by Bodmer within the 1830s present photos of shell pendants. Meanwhile, elk ivory pendants are widespread adornments seen in historic pictures and reported by merchants, explorers, and ethnographers.

It appears the aesthetic position of shell pendants was changed by elk ivory pendants someday between Bodmer’s 1830s depictions and the arrival of images.

Finally, the location gives proof that shell bead manufacturing doubtless made use of steel awls, which have been additionally recovered at River Bend.

This has specific implications, defined Dr. Pelton, “We have not but discovered awls like this at different websites, but it surely appears to be among the many first forms of gadgets from these early contact period websites. The hottest gadgets traded for at this early time are normally utilitarian gadgets just like instruments that had already been made in Plains Indian society for hundreds of years out of stone or bone.

“Things like steel awls, needles, knives, kettles, and axes. Once steel arrowheads began to be made, chisels and information for his or her manufacturing additionally grew to become common commerce gadgets. Metal instruments lasted longer and sometimes carried out better than their stone and bone equivalents, in order that they have been wanted very quickly after contact.”

It is probably going that the introduction of iron awls dramatically elevated the manufacturing of shell ornaments, which, in contrast to elk, hen, and canid bones, have been extra plentiful and straightforward to acquire.

The study gives insights into early post-contact Plains Indian adornment. How practices persevered despite European contact and the way they modified, incorporating new applied sciences whereas nonetheless sustaining outdated methodologies.

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