Archaeological Indicators of Native American Influences on English Life in the Colonial Chesapeake

All too often, archaeological studies of the Contact Period, as it occurred in the Chesapeake Bay region, have focused on the European impact on Native American life. The opposite side of this interaction—the effects Indians had on colonial life—has been downplayed. Indian-made artifacts found on colonial sites are often seen as little more than indicators of “trade.” However, a closer examination of the evidence suggests that the Native impact on English settlers was more profound. Using data from the NEH-funded Comparative Archaeological Study of Colonial Chesapeake Culture Project, Indian artifacts from a number of Chesapeake sites are being studied. This paper shows that pipes, pottery, beads, and other components of Indian material culture played an important and functional role in early colonial life. Indian materials eventually took on antiquarian significance as well. As a comparison to this study of colonial sites, the same data categories are then applied to two 17th-century Native American sites included as part of the NEH project, in order to measure the influence of European material culture on Indian life.