Abstract

For archaeologists interested in the timing and tempo of native material culture transformation during the earliest phases of European contact, the appearance of new types of copper-base trade metal artifacts on native sites from the period has traditionally served as an important signal of intensifying European influence. However, relatively little attention has been paid to analyzing these artifacts from a technological or compositional perspective. Preliminary results drawn from application of a complimentary suite of archaeometric procedures, including metric, microscopic, metallographic, and compositional analyses using proton-induced x-ray emission spectroscopy (PIXE) on a sample of 75 copper-base metal artifacts from the late protohistoric/early contact Illiniwek Village Site, Clark County, Missouri are brought together to demonstrate the usefulness of these combined techniques in addressing questions of native appropriation, manipulation, use, and distribution of these metals during the earliest phases of material and technological change. The range, variation, and material character of the artifacts are identified, as are the technical means through which these metals are thought to have been reworked. Results are discussed within larger contexts of native metalworking and technological change among the Illinois.