THE VALUE OF RECIPROCITY: COPPER, EXCHANGE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION IN THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC REGION OF THE EASTERN WOODLANDS OF NORTH AMERICA

Abstract

Native Americans in the Eastern Woodlands participated in extensive trade networks with their surrounding neighbors, beginning over 4,500 years ago. Lithics, perishable goods, exotics, and knowledge have crisscrossed the landscape throughout prehistory. By determining a general region from which copper artifacts originated and linking it with the location of their use and eventual discard, this research reveals "trade" patterns and thus advances our understanding of culture change in the Eastern Woodlands. This project focuses on evaluating the nature and extent of this interaction using copper artifacts from Early to Middle Woodland period sites within the Middle Atlantic region. These sites include Abbott Farm and Rosenkrans Ferry in New Jersey and Nassawango in Maryland. This study uses laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry to examine trace-element concentrations of copper in artifacts and thus tests existing regional models of prehistoric exchange. By examining the elemental composition of copper this study was able to determine whether the artifacts from these sites were made on raw material from single or multiple geological sources, and where those sources might be located. The elemental study showed that geologic sources of copper represented by the artifacts found on a site could have come from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina and Canada. These geological sources are all located within the eastern United States. This helped to clarify how native peoples in the Middle Atlantic Region acquired copper and whether current reconstructions of ancient patterns of trade could account for the regional distribution of copper artifacts. A series of expectations based on interpretations of the chemical data were constructed to evaluate existing exchange models. Certain aspects of the exchange models did hold up in light of this study. A broad-based (down the line) exchange network was identified for the Early Woodland site examined in this study. Similarly, broad-based exchange networks were seen at Middle Woodland sites; with the addition of a more complex focused exchange network with copper coming from within the region. This means that prehistoric groups in this region, while they appear to exhibit signs of increased socio-cultural complexity, provide stronger evidence of a reciprocally shared ideology based on probable kin relations. Similarly, these results agree with previous copper sourcing studies carried out in the mid-continent. Identifying the provenance of artifacts used in exchange networks is important for understanding interactions among prehistoric groups and the impact of these networks on social organization. Furthermore, by combining geological, archaeological, and anthropological data this research elucidates processes of material resource acquisition and determines if they change through time. Research into the identification of raw material sources, the archaeological context of exotic artifacts, the movement of those artifacts between groups, and the significance or value attached to those artifacts through the act of exchange all contribute to an understanding of prehistoric behavioral and social processes.