Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 12-1987 Lead Seals from Fort Michilimackinac, Mackinaw City, Michigan Diane L. Adams Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Adams, Diane L., "Lead Seals from Fort Michilimackinac, Mackinaw City, Michigan" (1987). Master's Theses. 1240. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/1240 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]. LEAD SEALS FROM FORT MICHILIMACKINAC, MACKINAW CITY, MICHIGAN by Diane L. Adams A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of Anthropology Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan December 1987 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LEAD SEALS FROM FORT MICHILIMACKINAC, MACKINAW CITY, MICHIGAN Diane L. Adams, M.A. Western Michigan University, 1987 Archaeologists have routinely identified small lead seals found on sixteenth- to eighteenth-century sites in North America as "bale seals." An analysis of the lead seals from Fort Michilimackinac, Mackinaw City, Michigan, (1715-1781) was conducted to determine whether the seals are actually cloth seals from individual textiles. Four lines of evidence were examined in order to clarify the function(s) of lead seals: documentary sources, quantitative analysis of archaeological data from Fort Michilimackinac, compar­ ative data from site reports, and cloth imprint analysis. Available evidence supports an interpretation that most lead seals are cloth marks. Lead seals served as indicators of quality, ownership, and taxation of cloth. Documentary sources mention the existence of lead bale seals, and a small number of seals from Fort Michilimackinac may have served to seal or identify the contents of bales of trade goods. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT S This thesis could not have been written without the assistance of many individuals. I am grateful for many helpful comments provided by my thesis advisor Dr. Elizabeth Baldwin Garland, and committee member Dr. Robert Jack Smith, both of Western Michigan University; and by Dr. Donald P. Heldman, Director of Archaeology for the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, who served as the third member of my committee. This study was supported in part by a grant from the Mackinac Island State Park Commission. I would also like to thank Mr. William Fritz, Archaeological Conservator for the Park Commission, for cleaning several of the seals on short notice, and Mr. Keith Widder, Curator of Historical Research for the Park Commission, for assist­ ance in obtaining historical materials. I am indebted to Mr. Geoffrey Egan of the Museum of London, England, who patiently answered my numerous questions about cloth seals, and to researchers in Canada and the United States who sent data on lead seals. I extend thanks to Dr. Helenan Robin of the Department of Political Science, Western Michigan University, for guiding me through the quantitative analysis of the seals. I gratefully acknowledge the encouragement of my parents during this project. My special thanks go to Mr. Mark Cravalho for his friendship and for his useful editorial comments. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INFORMATION TO USERS This reproduction was made from a copy of a document sent to us for microfilming. While the most advanced technology has been used to photograph and reproduce this document, the quality of the reproduction is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help clarify markings or notations which may appear on this reproduction. 1. The sign or “target” for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is “Missing Page(s)”. 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If necessary, sectioning is continued again—beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete. 4. For illustrations that cannot be satisfactorily reproduced by xerographic means, photographic prints can be purchased at additional cost and inserted into your xerographic copy. These prints are available upon request from the Dissertations Customer Services Department. 5. Some pages in any document may have indistinct print. In all cases the best available copy has been filmed. University Mfcrdfilms International 300 N. Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Order Number 1332306 Lead seals from Fort Michilimackinac, Mackinaw City, Michigan Adams, Diane L., M.A. Western Michigan University, 1987 UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Aibor, MI 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PLEASE NOTE: In all cases this material has been filmed in the best possible way from the available copy. Problems encountered with this document have been identified here with a check mark -✓ . 1. Glossy photographs or p ages______ 2. Colored illustrations, paper or print_______ 3. Photographs with dark background✓**'’ 4. Illustrations are poor copy_______ 5. Pages with black marks, not original copy. 6. Print shows through as there is text on both sides of page 7. Indistinct, broken or small print on several pages. _ ^ L 8. Print exceeds margin requirements______ 9. Tightly bound copy with print lost in sp in________ e 10. Computer printout pages with indistinct print_______ 11. Page(s)_____________ lacking when material received, and not available from school or author. 12. Page(s)_____________ seem to be missing in numbering only as text follows. 13. Two pages numbered . Text follows. 14. Curling and wrinkled p ages______ 15. Dissertation contains pages with print at a slant, filmed as received__________ 16. Other___________________________ ______________________ ______ University Microfilms International Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. I assume responsibility for any errors in this report. Diane L. Adams iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................... ii LIST OF TABLES ................ vi LIST OF FIGURES ................... vii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................. 1 II. OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY............. 9 Documentary Sources ................. 10 Site R e p o r t s ............................ 10 Cloth Imprint Analysis .......................... 11 Quantitative Analysis of Lead Seals From Fort Michilimackinac.................. 12 III. THE ROLE OF FORT MICHILIMACKINAC IN THE FUR TRADE OF NEW FRANCE . ................. 14 IV. ORGANIZATION OF THE FUR TRADE IN NEW F R A N C E .......... 22 French Period (c. 1650-1761) 23 British Period (1761-1796) ....................... 27 V. RESULTS OF A N A L Y S I S ............................ 30 Documentary Sources........... 30 Quantitative Analysis of Lead Seals From Fort Michilimackinac......... 53 Fort Michilimackinac Settlement Pattern ....... 53 Historical Documents Concerning Fort Michilimackinac.................. 55 Archaeological Excavation at Fort Michilimackinac...................... 55 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents— Continued Hypothesis Testing ............... 57 Site R e p o r t s .......................... 66 Description and Identification of Lead Seals From Fort Michilimackinac . .................. 71 Concluding Remarks ....................... 78 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................. 80 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES 1. Artifacts Classified as Tailoring and Trade Items ........