This artifact group, which contained the greatest number and variety of European trade items, was divided into three classes: (1) ornaments; (2) grooming implements; and (3) entertainment items. The ornament class was the largest and consisted of jewelry items such as glass beads, brass bells, and wire bracelets. A few of the artifacts from the personal group were datable.
Ornaments
A total of 12,488 glass beads were found at the Fredricks site. Three ivory beads also were recovered. Wampum beads and other aboriginally manufactured shell beads are discussed with shell ornaments.
The three ivory beads were recovered from Burial 2, Burial 3, and Feature 13. All are 6 mm in diameter, 5 mm long, spherical, have polished exteriors, and were yellowed with age. Beads of this type, often called "rosary beads," have been found at Fort Michilimackinac (Stone 1974:114-115), the Tunica site (Brain 1979:221), the Cherokee town of Tomotley (Carnes 1983:202), and the Guebert site (Good 1972:123). Stone (1974:115) suggests that these beads were traded individually as well as being attached to religious apparel, and that they were present as early as 1680 and lasted through the mid-1700s.
Glass beads ranged in size from small (<4 mm in diameter) "seed" beads to very large (>10 mm in diameter) necklace beads and were of several colors (see Table 8). Color preference varied with bead size. Glass beads were present in most excavated contexts at the Fredricks site; however, none were recovered from Feature 8 or Feature 30, both of which are prehistoric features that predate the Occaneechi occupation.
Small seed beads (n=11,232) were the most common and probably were sewn on articles of clothing. A majority of these beads were white (89.3%), though numerous redwood (8.9%) and blue seed beads (1.4%) also were recovered. Kent (1984:211-223) has placed the peak popularity for blue seed beads at 1575 to 1760, with a major increase from 1600 to 1665. The popularity of white beads seems to have remained fairly consistent throughout the Historic period. For the most part, however, the trade records lack details of glass beads.
Glass beads greater than 4 mm in diameter likely were worn on strands and only secondarily as sewn decorations on garments. In contrast to the small seed beads, the larger beads were predominantly redwood in color and of a type commonly referred to as Cornaline d'Aleppo beads. Most of the other medium-to-very-large beads were white, blue, or "fancy" beads.
A few of the fancy beads provided additional chronological information. "Roman" beads recovered from Burial 1 were opaque black with yellow glass inlaid lines and of wire-wound construction (Kidd and Kidd's [1970] Type IIj). Brain (1979:113) contends that these beads originated in Amsterdam, and he reports dates of 1669 to 1799 for the type. They have been found at the Tunica site (Brain 1979:113), the Guebert site (Good 1972:115), Fort Michilimackinac (Stone 1974:99), the Tomotley site (Carnes 1983:206), and Susquehannock sites in Pennsylvania (Kent 1984:214-215). A large blue bead (translucent), identified as Kidd and Kidd's Type IIa55 was found in Burial 6. These are dated 1600-1800 by Brain (1979:112). An opaque, turquoise blue bead with a compound white/red stripe, found in Burial 2, is dated 1680-1836 (Brain 1979:104). It is Kidd and Kidd's Type IIb7.
Several varieties of Cornaline d'Aleppo beads, identified as Kidd and Kidd's Type IVa, were found. In general, these beads have a redwood colored opaque slip over a gray, green, clear, or white core and occur in all sizes. They date from 1600 to 1836 (Brain 1979:106). A single, dark red-purple tubular bead, found in Feature 13, may represent glass wampum. Good (1972:120) found similar beads at the Guebert site, and assigns them a date of 1660-1677. Three translucent navy blue beads with alternating red and white stripes were found in Features 9 and 13 and can be dated to 1700-1740 (Good 1972:109).
Finally, Kent (1984:213) offers a few critical observations on the use of bead types as chronological indicators. At Susquehannock sites, straw beads (tubular or cane beads) had their greatest popularity between 1630 and 1670; sites dating after 1670 contained fewer straw beads and more tumbled seed beads. Also, numbers of wire-wound beads (all sizes) increased on sites dating to the middle-to-late eighteenth century. Polhemus's (1987:939-946) observations at Overhill Cherokee town sites confirm these temporal trends in bead popularity. The only wire-wound beads found at the Fredricks site were the "Roman" beads. Based on the above information, a date between 1670 and 1740 for the historic occupation of the Fredricks site is reasonable.
Bells appear frequently on trade inventories and apparently were popular ornamental items among the Indians. Thirty-five sheet brass bells were recovered from the Fredricks site, and all but two were recovered from features or burials. Twenty-three bells were found in Burial 7. These bells appear to have been sewn together on straps or on a garment and fastened around the knees of the individual, 12 around one knee and 11 around the other. The bells from Burial 7 are identified as a flush-edge type, made of stamped sheet brass by flush-loop construction, and they measure 15.5 mm in diameter. A small iron sphere was visible through the holes of the lower hemisphere of each bell. Brain (1979:197) reported finding identical bells at the Tunica site that date 1699-1730. A single bell from Feature 13 is also made from stamped sheet brass, but the equatorial seam is flanged rather than flush. It measures 18 mm in diameter and has a flush loop for attachment. This variety, which is often referred to as a "Saturn bell," has been found at the Fatherland site (1699-1730), Fort Michilimackinac (1700-1730), and other sites dating 1659-1681 (Brain 1979:202). Eight brass bells also were associated with Burial 10. Four of these had flush edges and were 15 mm in diameter; the other four were Saturn-type bells and were 18 mm in diameter. Two other brass bells were recovered from the plowzone, and a bell fragment was found in Feature 44.
Wire bracelets were associated with Burial 6 (n=2) and Burial 11 (n=1). Both of the bracelets with Burial 6 are made of brass and are of the same style and gauge of wire, but are of slightly different size. These compound, C-shaped bracelets were found on the left forearm of the individual and appeared to be partially covered with leather (possibly the remains of a garment lying on the bracelets). The Burial 11 bracelet was made of iron wire but otherwise was similar to the Burial 6 artifacts. Iron bracelets have been recovered from the late seventeenth-century Upper Saratown site (31Sk1a) (see map) and one made of brass wire was found at the Madison site (31Rk6). All of these others were found in burial contexts. C-shaped bracelets are diagnostic of the early to middle period of Indian trade (Brain 1979:193), when they were common ornamental items.
Often, bulk quantities of metal wire (e.g., brass, iron, and copper) were traded to the Indians specifically for modification into ornaments, fishhooks, or coils. A single brass wire coil was found in the fill of Feature 13. Similar coils have been found at the Tunica site (Brain 1979:196) and at many of the Cherokee sites in Tennessee (Carnes 1983:208; Polhemus 1987:963), mostly in burial contexts. It has been suggested that these coils functioned either as ornaments or sometimes as hair pluckers (tweezers) or ear ornaments (Brain 1979:196).
Other ornamental items found at the Fredricks site included: (1) two brass finger rings (a whole ring from the plowzone and a fragment from Feature 47); (2) cut brass dangles from Feature 18 (n=1), Feature 19 (n=4), and the plowzone (n=1); (3) a tubular brass bead and a spiraled, brass wire frog(?) effigy from Feature 41; and (4) two unidentified brass ornament fragments from Feature 17 and Feature 45.
Grooming Implements
Four pieces of flat mirror glass were found at the Fredricks site. While two of these came from the plowzone and cannot be firmly associated with the Occaneechi occupation, the others were recovered from the Structure 1 wall trench and the fill of Burial 14. Mirrors, or looking glasses, show up frequently on trade lists (France 1985). It has been noted at Cherokee sites, however, that mirrors sometimes functioned as personal adornment, suspended from the neck or sewn on clothing, rather than as grooming implements (Carnes 1983:208).
Entertainment Items
Artifacts within this third class of personal artifacts have been collectively termed entertainment items and include smoking pipes, ember tongs, a snuff box, and iron Jew's harps. Kaolin pipe fragments were common in both plowzone (n=139) and feature/burial (n=357) contexts. Three relatively complete kaolin pipes also were recovered from Feature 45 (see pipe), Feature 61 (see pipe), and the plowzone overlying Structure 11. In contrast, only 107 aboriginally-made pipe fragments and four complete pipes (see first, second) were found. Many of these fragments were from terra-cotta pipes, some with fine rouletted designs, which imitate the English kaolin pipe form. Two complete terra-cotta pipes were associated with Burial 5. It has been suggested that these pipes may have been made by either Virginians or Virginia Indians for the fur trade (Ward and Davis 1993:365-368). In addition to clay pipes, two pewter pipes were associated with Burial 3 (see pipe) and Burial 6 (see pipe), and three other pewter pipe fragments were recovered from Feature 41 and the plowzone (n=2).
Stem fragments of kaolin pipes from the Fredricks site were sorted by context and by bore diameter. A general period of manufacture was calculated for each bore diameter using the formula of Harrington (1954:6-8). Of 42 measurable mid-section fragments recovered during 1983 and 1984, 55% belong to a 1650-1680 period of manufacture, whereas 33% date to 1680-1710. When Binford's (1962:19-21) regression formula was applied to the sample, a date of 1678.95 was determined for plowzone pipe stems, and a date of 1683.16 was calculated for pipe stems from burial/feature contexts. This finding strongly suggests that the pipe stems recovered in the plowzone can be identified with the same occupation that is responsible for the burials and features. Because of the small sample (18 stems from plowzone and 24 from burial/feature contexts), and criticisms of the validity of pipe-stem dating, caution must be exercised in the interpretation of these dates.
Aboriginally manufactured clay pipes from the Fredricks site were analyzed for form, decoration, composition, completeness, and dimensions of stem length, bore diameter, and bowl-to-stem angle. Decorations on a few of the bowls and stem sections included incised bands, roulettes, punctations, and dentate designs. Paste consisted of micaceous clays, sometimes with fine-grain grit tempering. Although none was glazed, many exhibited evidence of burning through soot deposits. A few specimens revealed marks of metal tools. An attempt was made to correlate bore diameters of the finer-made, or tooled, aboriginal pipes to the bore diameters of European kaolin pipes. Using the same gauges as were used on the aboriginal specimens, an average bore diameter of 8/64 in (3.7 mm) was obtained from 26 specimens. Binford's (1962:19-21) regression formula was used on 13 specimens to obtain a date of 1673.21 for burial/feature contexts.
The cast pewter pipe recovered from Burial 3 was identified as a tulip-bowl style, possibly of Dutch or British origin. Although cast pewter pipes could not be found on any of the trade lists reviewed (France 1985), they have been found archaeologically at Iroquois sites in New Jersey dating to 1650-1687 (Heye and Pepper 1915:50), and Kent (1984:287) reported a pewter pipe stem from the Conestoga site (c. 1680s). It is also possible that this pipe could be of Anglo-American origin and was produced specifically for trade among the Indians. Noël Hume (1969:308) has noted that metal pipes were popular items among White hunters and travelers in the latter part of the eighteenth century because clay pipes tended to be too fragile for travel. Archaeological remains of lead ammunition manufacturing at the Fredricks site suggests that the natives themselves were knowledgeable about casting methods and could have made this pipe. A second, hand-carved pewter pipe stem found in Burial 6 strengthens this observation. The stem consists of a hollow tube of pewter encased in an outer sleeve with geometric cut-outs decorating the bowl end. Three small spurs were noticed at this end and may have served to attach a wooden bowl (not archaeologically preserved). Observations in the field during excavation of this object suggested the deteriorated remains of a metal bowl rim or liner were present. A funnel-shaped, hand-made pewter object was found in Feature 13 which has been tentatively identified as a pipe-bowl liner for a wooden bowl. A similar pipe-bowl liner made of copper was found at an historic Indian cemetery known as the Grimsby site (Kenyon 1982:108). A bowl liner of this type could have been used with the carved pipe stem from Burial 6.
Two iron ember tongs or "tenders," also known as "smoker's companions" or spring tongs, were found in Burial 3 and the plowzone. Three other pieces of ember tongs were recovered from Feature 17 and the plowzone (n=2). Wilson (1984:4) has suggested that the tongs in Burial 3 were associated with a smoker's kit or bundle. Ember tongs or "tobacco tongues" are described in ethnohistorical accounts of this period and appear on trade inventories (France 1985). Noël Hume (1969:309) suggests that ember tongs were used throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Burial 3 tong is made of iron and has rounded pincer arms and flattened handle ends for easy gripping. The spring clip found with the specimen was broken off.
The only other tobacco-related artifact is a snuff box, or perhaps a trinket box, that occurred as part of a bundle of items in Burial 11. This round box was constructed of tin-plated (or washed) iron and is about two inches in diameter.
Two iron Jew's harps also were found in the same Burial 11 "bundle," and another Jew's harp was recovered from a bundle of artifacts in Burial 2. A nearly whole specimen also was found in the plowzone near Burial 12. Similar artifacts have been found archaeologically at other contact Indian sites such as the Guebert site (Good 1972:132).
The artifacts comprising the personal group represent almost 87% of all trade artifacts found at the Fredricks site.
