Chemical Analysis of Copper and Brass Samples from Christian Island, Georgian Bay, Ontario

Jointly published by Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Articles, Elsevier Science S. A., Lausanne and VoL 196, No. 2 (1995) 255-266 Akad~miai Kiadd , Budapest

CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF COPPER AND BRASS SAMPLES FROM CHRISTIAN ISLAND, GEORGIAN BAY, ONTARIO

R.G.V. HANCOCK', R.M. FARQUHAR", L.A. PAVLISH", W.D. 17ENLAYSON"*~

"SLOWPOKEReactor Facility and Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, M5S 1A4 "Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto Canada, MSS 1AS "*London Museum of Archaeology, London, Canada, N6G 3M6

(Received March 1. 1995)

One hundred and eighty-seven metal samples, recovered from tlae fortified mission of Ste. Marie II and nearby villages on Christian Island, include 3 samples of native copper, 22 samples of European copper, 19 samplesof brassy copper (~8% Zn), 141 brass samples and 2 samples of lead. The European copper samples form 5 distinct chemical groups, possibly coming from 5 different copper kettles. The brassy COlrpersamples are more difficultto group, When the brass samples are sorted by Ag and As, they form 2 major groupings:group 1 with high Ag and low As contents; group 2 with similar Ag and As contents through to low Ag and high As contents. Group 1 consisted of 11 chemical sub-groups and 6 outliers, while group 2 contributed 14 sub-groups and 14 outliers. This combines to give a total of 45 potentially unrelated brass chemistries, and leads to the possibility of as few as 20 different brass trading items (mainly kettles) from which the samples were cut. The small sub-sets of samples from the sites away from Ste. Marie lI tended to fit within chemical groups found there, suggesting some possible inter-site contemporaneity.

When the first Europeans arrived in south-central Ontario in the early 17th century, the area was occupied by the Hurons, a confederacy of four tribes of lroquoian speaking peoples, who built longhouses and lived in villages, which were often palisaded. The Hurons were slash and burn horticulturalists who grew corn, beans and squash. After earlier documented visits by explorers like Samuel de Champlain (1616), and the Recollet priests, the Jesuits established themselves in Huronia in 1634. In 1639, they created a centrafized mission at the site of Ste. Marie I, on the bank of the Wye River near present day Midland, Ontario. This mission flourished until the mid 1640's when, traditional warfare between the Huron and the League of Five Nations Iroquois, who lived south of Lake Ontario, began to intensify. 1-3 Following a series of Iroquoian raids that had devastating effects on both the economy and morale, the Huron confederacy as a social and political entity began to disintegrate. In 1648, the Jesuits reported that they had set up a mission in a Huron village, whose occupants had recently moved to Christian Island to escape the attacks of the Iroquois. TIle following spring, Father Chaumonot and a number of huron refugees from Ossossone arrived at Christian Island.

In June of 1649, the decision was made to abandon Ste. Marie L Discussions between the Huron chiefs and the Jesuits about a new permanent location for the mission finally resulted in the choice of Christian Island (see figure 1) in southern Georgian Bay rather than the more distant and climatically less favourable, but safer, Mauitoulin Island. Ste. Marie I was stripped of usable goods and materials, which were subsequently transported to Christian Island on a large raft Ste. Marie I was burned to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Iroquois. A new fortified mission with a secure water supply, SI~. Marie IT, was built on the lee shore of Christian Island to house the Jesuits and their lay assistants. A large Huron village was established adjacent to the mission. Historical evidence suggests that this village may have comprised up to 100 structures. Estimates suggest a total population on the island of up to 8,000 individuals in the fall and winter of 1649-50. The Huron refugees had not been able to bring adequate food supplies with them to the island. Consequently, during the winter, thousands of Hurons died of starvation and disease. 4 In June of 1650, the Jesuits and their assistants and about 300 Hurons left Christian Island and took refuge in Quebec while another 300 Hurons stayed on the island. In 1651, some of the latter sought refuge on Manitouiin Island while the remainder were taken captive by the Iroquois, or fled.

Fig. 1 Loe~m map fo~ thearcha~logieal sil~

Today, Christian Island is the home of the Beausoleil First Nation, a population of mostly Ojibwa and a few Potowatomi. Archaeological Investigations: Ste. Marie 1/ was fin-st investigated in the late 19th centur~ '6. The first modem archaeological excavations were conducted within the stone walled fort in 1965. 7 In 1967 and 1968, excavations were conducted in the village north of the fort

256 R, G. V. HANCOCKet ,'d.: CHEMICALANALYSIS OF COPPER AND BRASS and also in the Huron cemetery) Between 1987 and 1989, archaeological investigations were continued on the Christian Island Indian Reserve. Test excavations were conducted in and adjacent to the Fort Ste. Marie II and in the village nearby. Archaeological survey resulted in the investigation of four Huron sites on Christian Island which produced native and European metal artifacts and metallic debris. Limited excavations were conducted within Ste. Marie 11. It was found to be larger than previously thought, with a European compound located to the north of the stone walled ruins visible today on the shore of the island. Electromagnetic and resistivity surveys supported these findings. 9 Middle Woodland ceramics were also recovered, suggesting a much earlier occupation of this portion of the island. North of the fort, the village was investigated and produced a small sampling of artifacts. The Charity site was discovered on the shore of Lake Douglas and is interpreted as the Huron village associated with the Jesuit mission established in 1647 or 1648. It predated the establishment of Ste. Marie II, but was still occupied after the fort was built. The Omand site is located near the southern tip of Christian Island. It is interpreted as a pre-European contact and European contact period Huron fishing camp, which may have been occupied at the same time as Ste. Marie II to protect the island from attack by the Iroquois from the adjacent shore of the mainland. The Little Sand site is located on the eastern shore of Christian Island and appears to be another fishing camp, which produced both native and European artifacts. One hundred and eighty seven metal artifacts were selected for chemical analysis, the results of which are presented below.

Analytical Procedure

The metal samples, recovered mainly from trade kettles found in Christian Island archaeological sites, were analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) at the SLOWPOKE Reactor Facility of the University of Toronto. ~~ Pre-weighed samples were first irradiated serially for three minutes at a neutron flux of 1.0 x l0 n n.cm-2.s1 and assayed for 200 seconds after a delay time of approximately one minute using Ge detector-based gamma ray spectrometers, for Cu, V and A1. Elemental concentrations were calculated using the comparator method. Smaller samples were irradiated with suitably larger neutron doses. After a delay time of about one hour, each sample was re-assayed for Zn, Mn and In. Medium and long half-life radioisotope-producing elements were quantified by batch irradiating between 20 to 30 samples per irradiation container for 16 hours at 2.5 x 10 n n.cm2.s 1. After 6 to 8 days, samples were serially assayed for 1000 to 3000 seconds looking for Sin, Au, La, Cd, As, Sb and Na. A final counting was made after between 10 and 14 days, at which time the samples were counted for 2 to 16 hours each, depending on sample size, to determine the concentrations of Sn, Se, Hg, Th, Cr, Au, As, Sb, Ag, Ni, Sc, Fe, Zn, Co and Eu. This procedure produced replicate measurements of enough elements to guarantee no sampie mix- ups. Analytical precisions ranged from +1% to detection limits.

257 R. G. V. HANCOCK et al.: CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF COPPER AND BRASS

Results and Discussion

The analytical results indicate that the distribution of trace elements in copper-based metals from the sites sampled can be used to evaluate the copper and brass distribution. H18 A summary of the general chemical groupings, listed in Table 1, shows that the sample suite consisted of three samples of native copper, 22 samples of European copper, nineteen samples of brassy (.g8% Zn) European copper, I41 brass samples and 2 samples of lead. Table 2 presents the analytical data for the lead and native copper samples. The native copper samples may have come from earlier occupations or may have been brought from Ste. Marie I. The finding of two lead samples was rather surprising, since at the time of sampling, efforts were made to exclude non-copper based metals.

Table 1 Distribution of metals from the archaeological sites

Site Native European Brassy Brass Lead copper copper copper

Ste. Marie II 2 19 18 100 2 Little Sand 1 Omand 2 1 Village 1 7 Charity I 1 32

Table 2 INAA Data for lead and native copper samples from Saint Marie II and the village.

Sample Ag As Au Co In Mn Ni Sb Sn Zn Number ppm ppm lYpb ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm %

Pb08 190 39 270 <1.8 .~0.3 <9 ~'93 200 2700 fill.007 Pb45 980 660 76

79 160 _<4.1 37 2.7 <1-2 if,5 <18 0.45 2/10 fll.003 184 29 ~42 130 5.3 _<0.9 .~ _<73 t.5 <4(10 .~0.010 v130 13 _<4.1 110 3.2 <1.0 _<4 57.6 2.3 _<64 .gl).001

The data for the 22 European copper samples are shown in Table 3, in which they are sorted by their chemistries. They form 5 chemical groups, as is shown in Figure 2, which is a plot of arsenic versus silver.

258 R. G. V. HANCOCK et al.: CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF COPPER AND BRASS

2000

E A e~ A A r @ @@ ._o r 1000 @ @ $0 |

Silver ppm

Hg. 2 Scattergram of A.s versus Ag for E~ copper

Although the material we call copper is now defined as being greater than 99.6% pure, some of these ~ c~pper samples are fin-rich, especially sample 169 with its 1.6% fin, and are tending towards the compositions of tin bronzes. They all fit within the compositional zone proposed by Bayley as impure copper. 19

3000

E o. 2000 CL

o om c

t- 1000 t

~o O 0 i i 0 500 1000 1500

Silver ppm Fig. 3 ScaUergramofAsversasAg for the two major brass chemistry groap~ o highAg-lowA~ even Ag and As through to low Ag - high As

259 R. G. V. HANCOCK et a/.: CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF COPPER AND BRASS

Table 3 INAA Data for European copper from Saint Marie II, Omand and Charity

Sample Ag As Au Co In Mn Ni Sb Sn Zn Number ppm ppm ppb ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm %

19 1700 170 58400 65 71 _<10 _<120 94 2000 0.046 20 1500 160 49000 65 56 31 <'270 80 5200 -<0.022

16 1700 680 57500 76 75 _<11 -<200 900 1800 0.095

30 980 380 23000 5 5 -<7 <__.300 1200 2500 0.13 31 1160 400 27300 _<3 7 <--9 450 1600 1000 0.14 37 1040 360 25400 _<3 7 __<4 -<160 1100 1800 0.14 O121 840 370 27400 __<4 5 20 <__200 1500 1700 0.12 o122 930 400 28600 _<4 6 _<9 ~270 1500 2200 0.10 187 970 290 24600 -<3 5 _<6 280 900 1600 0.11

63 770 830 15200 ~ 3 __<6 <170 1100 900 0.11 67 870 870 18000 <3 3 __<4 <190 1300 <-500 0.11 92 1100 1100 26800 <-3 4 <5 :g210 1800 __<400 0.11 95 930 1200 20000 <3 3 __<4 __<180 1600 1100 0.027 100 770 810 16400 <-3 3 __<8 520 1000 _<300 -<0.011 102 I000 1100 22500 <-22 4 ~/ _<160 1800 700 -<0:010 108 1100 900 23100 _<3 4 .~ __<180 1300 __<400 0.12 109 1100 800 27900 _<5 5 190 <___290 1800 2400 0.060 168 690 860 14200 _<3 3 __<4 370 1100 -<400 -<0.012 169 690 910 14700 ~ _

C161 440 1500 12000 <-5 <1.5 __<6 660 2100 -<600 -<0.018 166 540 1300 14400 -<6 <1.4 <8 ~250 1900 3500 0.14 167 510 1400 17400 __<4 <1.1 __<6 440 1800 3500 0.034

o = Omand c --- Charity

Table 4 shows the data for the 19 brassy copper samples. The problems with this group of samples start with nomenclature. With over 1% Zn, they are no longer pure copper 2~ but with less than 9% Zn they are not classifiable as brasses. The brass and brassy copper interface is not universally defined, although a lower limit of 8-10% Zn appears to define a brass. I9~1 As proposed by Bayley 19, the naming problem appears to stem from the selection of the appropriate modem or historic name for the material in question. Notwithstanding, some of these brassy copper samples may be grouped by their chemistries. Ten of the 19 samples form 4 chemical groups (see Table 4), leaving the rest in classifiable limbo.

260 R. G. V. HANCOCK et al.: CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF COPPER AND BRASS

Table 4 INAA Data for bras~ copper from Saint Made II and othe~ sites

Sample Ag As Au Co In Mn Ni Sb Sn Zn Number ppm ppm ppb ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm %

54 960 1800 22800 30 6 -<5 850 2100 8600 1.6 86 1100 1400 30300 6 13 _<6 820 2000 7500 2.6 175 1100 1600 30300 $7 10 _<7 _<400 2100 17000 3.3 176 920 1600 23000 _<4 9 -<7 780 1700 7200 2.4

106 2200 4100 31800 83 98 47 _<460 2900 78000 3.7 107 1800 4800 27400 100 110 55 4_330 2400 76000 3.1

70 3200 2100 35600 21 21 _<6 900 1200 42000 2.5 83 2000 1600 27400 24 19 _<10 -<300 1200 290(30 9

77 650 570 12400 <7 3 -<7 ,:130 240 600 1.9 81 590 430 11600 -<3 2 16 470 210 <_500 g

Unsorted 3 1200 720 35500 38 39 _<8 _<390 570 2500 3 5 850 950 7500 8 9 30 -<260 160 25000 4 32 220 77 140 <7_ _<1 _<6 <_270 3.1 300 5 46 61 17 550 <'2 _<1 <_5 ~210 7.3 800 4 55 1300 380 41500 _<4 7 <_5 <_230 530 2900 1.1 68 2500 870 38200 16 21 _<8 <_320 610 20000 6 71 1400 1200 22000 41 22 _<10 750 600 14000 5 84 720 720 17500 37 19 21 ~350 210 8400 2.1 c154 3800 5100 2600 170 4 _<8 2000 260 63000 7

e -- Charity

The 141 brass samples also produced complex spectra of chemistries that are difficult to decipher. Although a partial separation seems to be possible, based on As and Ag (cf., Figure 3), there are as many as 42 different brass chemistries (see Table 5), if one assumes that the brass samples may be separated like the European copper samples. This gives a simplistic estimate of at least 20 brass trade kettles as the source material. There are chemical links between the copper and brass samples found at Ste. Marie II with copper and brass samples recovered from the village on Christian Island (v), Omand (o), Charity (c) and Little Sand sites (L)(see Table 3 and Table 5). This chemical linkage, in turn, implies possible communication links between the peoples at each site.

261 R. G. V. HANCOCK er. al.: CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF COPPER AND BRASS

Table 5 INAA Data for brass from Saint Marie II and other local sites

Sample Ag As Au Co In Mn Ni Sb Sn Zn Number ppm ppm ppb ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm %

Group 1. high Ag - low As

v128 740 290 12100 23 10 25 _<440 85 32000 25 v129 710 300 12600 6 8 29 _<430 85 12000 22 172 770 310 13200 19 9 32 _<410 89 13000 24

12 700 380 20000 30 12 30 ~370 110 5500 27 13 700 380 20400 33 15 33 -<600 110 6300 27 15 780 380 23800 l0 10 _<8 ~ 120 3500 22 17 760 380 23000 8 10 18 <-330 120 2200 21 18 830 390 26000 11 10 _<8 <-780 140 3300 25 22 750 360 23500 8 10 _<8 _<390 120 2000 22 23 790 390 23100 9 11 _<10 _<400 130 2900 22 24 760 410 23400 8 11 24 _<400 130 3000 25 25 740 390 21000 10 11 24 -<570 120 4300 27 26 800 400 24500 7 10 26 <390 140 2200 26 27 880 540 25900 30 15 40 _<670 140 3600 28 33 690 320 20400 8 11 20 <320 110 1600 24 34 830 390 24900 8 13 15 _<480 130 3800 21 38 840 410 23600 22 21 30 _<420 120 4500 20 43 840 350 28700 24 13 27 _<400 110 1700 25 44 790 320 17100 19 12 22 1100 110 4800 22 c140 690 360 20400 30 13 30 _<490 110 4800 26

6 990 240 23400 21 28 37 <-280 68 13000 20 7 1000 250 24000 11 26 32 _<500 73 13000 17 42 930 240 24400 8 15 55 _<510 84 900 25 105 770 240 23000 31 27 35 _<320 140 1000 23

21 1200 330 44800 14 34 59 -<360 110 4500 16 47 1100 250 39600 14 59 20 <340 63 3100 14 52 1100 200 40700 15 61 <10 _<440 56 4800 9 57 1200 200 39800 12 57 <10 _<410 53 1600 13 58 880 230 33600 18 42 _<11 <510 56 1800 22 94 1200 240 40100 19 46 -<8 <360 79 10000 16 98 1200 230 39000 25 43 19 _<420 79 11000 21 c148 1100 320 37000 18 44 29 _<490 100 <340 22 c153 1200 250 35300 51 78 57 _<440 78 <_290 21 c156 800 370 22100 68 76 38 _<600 85 _<440 27 c162 700 410 20200 36 93 58 _<430 76 <390 13

66 1100 450 36000 11 31 55 _<450 180 4400 7 104 1100 390 40100 13 37 23 _<400 190 7100 11 c143 1000 520 32200 32 38 48 _<430 200 8500 15 c147 1200 490 32300 41 86 44 _<730 130 3400 16 c152 1200 450 37900 15 26 49 -<390 170 1700 13

262 R. G. V. HANCOCK et al.: CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF COPPER AND BRASS

(Table 5 coJ~t' d)

Sample Ag As Au Co In Mn ~ Sb Sn Number ppm ppm ~b ~m ~m ~m ~m ~m ~m %

114 1100 360 34300 93 190 ~17 :~420 130 18000 23 115 1200 370 41500 53 250 <_35 -~90 140 23000 12 113 1200 380 43300 43 300 ::~25 _<480 170 5000 10

41 1200 250 33000 10 21 53 .~340 99 2000 17 50 1100 240 28700 10 9 37 :K.'330 58 1100 15 51 960 240 27600 8 17 52 .'.'.'.'~00 85 K300 25 60 930 230 34000 13 18 31 _<400 72

59 860 480 23900 27 17 46 -<610 140 3200 28 85 950 490 32900 15 26 40 ~360 160 2800 17 89 960 530 28900 23 19 48 _<400 160 2700 24 90 890 490 28500 23 19 46 -<430 170 .2600 23 v123 760 380 23000 52 24 48 _<460 140 6500 29 178 810 370 25500 24 14 23 ~580 150 7200 21 180 730 360 21500 25 15 30 g330 110 6000 25 c131 670 470 15500 18 4 46 ~530 210 2300 28 c132 730 480 16300 17 6 42 ~550 230 1800 23 c150 810 490 18500 19 5 62 1200 270 2100 28 c151 790 490 18100 16 4 43 1100 260 2200 23 c141 690 490 20600 110 21 25 2300 300 <-530 2~ c158 750 550 21900 I10 21 30 1700 320 -<400 24 c159 700 510 19800 120 16 31 2400 270 _<400 27 c160 790 550 22600 100 20 31 2300 320 <-.500 24

39 11130 560 29500 21 I4 -<7 <--570 240 7100 19 118 11130 600 35500 15 22 20 -<400 230 13000 18

29 140 70 2500 43 3 18 <-280 11 900 23 183 130 62 2400 43 3 18 ~300 12 1500 23 c133 110 60 2200 54 4 32 -<480 12 <-300 26

Unsorted 185 180 85 1100 $2 8 -<6 -<430 37 3900 20 173 640 240 10900 _<4 ~2 19 ~510 120 5400 20 112 880 490 20900 27 9 54 ~360 60 670 23 76 760 220 28500 510 490 -<47 <-.390 72 4500 21

263 R. G. V. HANCOCK et al.: CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF COPPER AND BRASS

(Table 5 cont'd)

Sample Ag As Au Co In Mn Ni Sb Sn Zn Number plan ppm ppb ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm plan %

Group 2. Even Ag and As through to low Ag and high As

I 390 390 3800 7 2 24 ~240 91 1500 17 2 400 380 4300 7 3 27 ~330 I00 1500 20 11 650 650 9200 9 5 s-'9 <~90 270 16000 12 c149 400 490 6500 18 5 39 <~00 120 II000 22 171 490 540 6000 6 4 28 g460 220 10000 22

72 530 530 1900 <7 gl.3 g'/ <090 550 16000 18 73 590 520 2300 g5 .f~0.9 13 g640 540 24000 17 74 580 540 2300 ~ gO.7 12 g340 550 23000 16

53 790 750 19000 12 7 63 -g380 480 4900 17 69 590 800 6500 8 9 37 780 580 2800 15 75 500 830 7300 15 6 92 1300 480 4700 22

87 360 260 5900 56 6 13 __<490 200 2000 17 88 280 320 4700 79 5 19 :f~80 200 800 25 101 460 580 4100 67 2 46 __<430 150 2500 17

61 740 660 19300 21 25 S'7 <-310 260 5200 15 62 710 770 19200 17 20 -<6 __<410 240 11000 17 64 760 600 21000 15 25 13 g380 260 6300 10 82 830 710 20600 28 22 g13 g480 230 10000 15

110 580 580 12700 39 16 17 :f,420 190 3500 30 111 550 560 12600 40 15 16 _<.500 180 4300 31 C134 640 950 13200 19 20 20 <__500 210 10000 24

14 390 780 5700 22 5 34 1500 220 3200 21 28 470 720 6600 22 5 27 _<740 200 4400 15 56 490 780 5600 36 3 190 1200 260 _<600 18 v124 370 850 4600 14 2 45 _<690 230 3900 22

4 470 910 6800 54 8 59 2700 760 3700 24 116 570 1000 7000 15 5 130 1400 1000 3000 22 117 590 1100 8900 _<4 6 120 1300 1200 3900 15 c139 500 870 6300 15 5 57 <_560 760 3500 22 165 440 780 6700 42 10 59 1800 730 7100 22

9 1100 2000 12800 47 9 -<9 1200 370 37000 16 10 1100 2000 13000 48 10 <_.5 S1400 360 35000 16 97 1100 2400 13700 32 10 _<7 990 430 29000 14 o120 770 1400 11900 29 8 _<6 790 330 24000 21 c144 1300 2600 16000 53 12 28 1100 460 39000 13 170 1300 2600 16800 55 12 .%5 990 430 61000 14

103 1300 2500 18700 30 14 _<4 860 560 26000 15 179 1400 2600 20600 18 15

264 R. G. V. HANCOCK et al.: CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF COPPER AND BRASS

(Table 5 conf d)

Sample Ag As An Co In bin 1,,ii Sb Sn Zn Numlmr ppm ppm l~b ppm ~ ~ plan ppm l~m %

C157 280 1300 13500 11 5 53 .g670 480 1500 29 C163 270 1200 13900 g3 4 54 ~ 460 3500 26

35 600 810 12000 10 6 4.7 .~30 130 2300 21 36 640 860 12900 7 4 32 Ot10 150 1600 211 48 490 520 9900 16 5 15 .~510 120 3500 I3' 49 690 640 14800 16 8 ~10 ~ 190 6500 14. 65 420 640 7900 10 4 35 ~580 160 2000 28 80 570 500 10000 5 2 18 :~300 190 1000 11 99 430 690 10100 6 4 46 1200 140 ~ 27

c142 540 440 7400 15 6 54 .q,490 360 s360 20 e155 440 570 7800 12 5 32 .(~520 340 1500 26

unsorted 40 ~33 300 2800 ~,5 _<0.2 <_.5 2100 210 5400 20 93 23110 5100 19300 84 28 _<.12 <~80 1300 42000 12 LI19 1100 910 3900 32 2 45 O170 150 2100 27 c135 350 500 2500 ~

o -- Omand c -- Charity v = V'aJage L -- Little Sand

Conclusions

The metals from Ste. Marie II and associated sites included 2 pieces of lead, 3 samples of native copper, 22 pieces of European copper, 19 samples/)f brassy copper and 141 pieces of brass. The European copper samples split into 5 different chemistries. The brassy copper samples formed 4 chemical groups with 9 unclassifiable samples. The brass samples formed 2 major chemical groupings which sub-divided into about 40 different chemistries. These chemical groupings lead to the proposal that the minimum of 4 to 5 dozen different copper and brass chemistries are possibly associated with a minimum of 2 to 3 dozen copper and brass trade kettle chemistries. Since each kettle chemistry may represent from one to many kettles from one batch of European metal, and since the one hundred and eighty-seven metal samples analyzed in this study came from limited surveys and excavations carded out at five locations on Christian Island, the numbers of whole or partial kettles on Christian Island during 1649- 1650 could well have ranged into the hundreds. Samples from other island sites chemically match with those from Ste. Marie II, suggesting some possible contemporaneity of the sites. Given the recognizable diversity of samples of European copper, brassy copper and brass, one avenue for future research will be to determine the chemistries of samples from mainland Huron and Petun villages that were occupied in the late 1640's to determine whether these can be linked with specific sites or areas of sites on Christian Island.

265 R. G. V. HANCOCK et ak: CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF COPPER AND BRASS

This research was financed by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The INAA was also made possible by an infrasn-acmre grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada to the SLOWPOKE Reactor Facility of the University of Toronto. Archaeological investigafiom on Christian Island between 1987 and 1992 were funded by the Government of Ontario through the Minislry of Culture, Tourism and Recreation.

References

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266