Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 4-1982 Jesuit Rings from Fort Michilimackinac and Other European Contact Sues Judith Ann Hauser Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Hauser, Judith Ann, "Jesuit Rings from Fort Michilimackinac and Other European Contact Sues" (1982). Master's Theses. 1691. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/1691 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. JESUIT RINGS FROM FORT MICHILIMACKINAC AND OTHER EUROPEAN CONTACT SUES by Judith Ann Hauser A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College In partial fullflllment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of Anthropology Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan April, 1982 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. JESUIT RINGS FROM FORT MICHILIMACKINAC AND OTHER EUROPEAN CONTACT SITES Judith Ann Hauser, M.A. Western Michigan University, 1982 An in-depth search of historical documentation and archaeological references indicates that there exists very little information on Jesuit rings. The primary references were statements in the Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents which strongly suggest that Jesuit rings were used as religious items by missionaries in the area known as New France. Cleland (1972) hypothesizes that changes in the design, quality, and production of the rings over a 60 year period Indicate that the rings were used as trade items. .Very little has been published on this subject but there is some support for this hypothesis. The largest number of rings recovered from any one site was found at Fort Michilimackinac, which was a large fur trade center and a center of missionary activity. An analysis of the distribution of the rings found at Michilimackinac supports Cleland's hypothesis, strongly suggesting that they were indeed used as trade items. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many individuals were instrumental in the completion of this thesis. I would like to thank my thesis committee, Dr. William Cremin (major advisor), Dr. Donald P. Heldman, Staff Archaeologist of the Mackinac Island State Park commission, and Dr. Robert Maher for their constructive criticisms. I would especially like to thank my parents, Robert and Zelda Hauser, and my sister, Lisa Hauser, for their constant encourage­ ment and support. I would also like to thank my family for proof­ reading the drafts of my thesis. Thanks also go to Chris Hogg for all of his help in accumulating the Jesuit rings from Michilimackinac; Dr. Richard Stamps, Depart­ ment of Anthropology, Oakland University, for his help and for encouraging me as an undergraduate; Christine Bartz, Librarian, Cranbrook Institute of Science and my Father, Robert Hauser, for his help on this project and for drawing Figure 9. Although all of these individuals contributed to this thesis the responsibility for the conclusions presented is entirely mine. Judith Ann Hauser li Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INFORMATION TO USERS This was produced from a copy of a document sent to us for microfilming. 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Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ZABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................... li LIST OF TABLES....................................................... LIST OF FIGURES........... vi LIST OF MAPS....................................................... vii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION................................................. 1 II. PROBLEM............................... ....................... 5 III. METHODOLOGY.................................................. 7 Historical Documents and Archaeological Reports.............. 7 Other European Contact Sites.............................. ..8 Style Drift...................... ......... ...................9 Spatial Analysis..................... ...................... 11 IV. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW......................................... 14 V. MICHILIMACKINAC............................................. 22 Description... ........ ......................22 Excavation. ....... .23 VI. JESUIT RINGS............................................ ....25 Distribution in New France and to the South................. 25 Manufacture, Design, and Symbolism.......................... 30 The Distribution of Rings at Michilimackinac............... 40 VII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS.................................... 47 Summary.................... ...... ....................... ...47 Conclusions .......... 48 H i . Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPENDIX............................................................ *50 BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................. 52 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1 DISTRIBUTION OF JESUIT RINGS AT EUROPEAN CONTACT SITES....... 28 2 ENGRAVED RINGS AT MICHILIMACKINAC........... 33 3 ANALYSIS OF JESUIT RING DISTRIBUTION AT FORT MICHILIMACKINAC...............................................41 4 JESUIT RING DISTRIBUTION AT FORT MICHILIMACKINAC.............. 50 5 AREA OF STRUCTURES AND SURROUNDING