Familiar Ways for New Things: The Adoption and Adaptation of European Materials by the Caddo in the Early Post-Contact Period

In recent decades both archaeological and historical research on indigenous societies in North America have begun to devote research to questions of interaction and hybridity. The period following initial European arrival at the end of the 15th century has increasingly been looked at through narratives that move away from an emphasis on rupture and collapse, instead highlighting continuity, adaptation, and indigenous agency. This thesis is a part of that broader shift and attempts to contribute to the wider collection of scholarship on the topic by examining how the Caddo people to the southwest of the Mississippi region incorporated European materials into their existing material culture during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Rather than treating contact with Europeans as a sharp divide between a time before and a time after, it approaches the period as one of entanglement and negotiation between the Caddo and the encroaching colonial powers of France and Spain. An emphasis...Show moreIn recent decades both archaeological and historical research on indigenous societies in North America have begun to devote research to questions of interaction and hybridity. The period following initial European arrival at the end of the 15th century has increasingly been looked at through narratives that move away from an emphasis on rupture and collapse, instead highlighting continuity, adaptation, and indigenous agency. This thesis is a part of that broader shift and attempts to contribute to the wider collection of scholarship on the topic by examining how the Caddo people to the southwest of the Mississippi region incorporated European materials into their existing material culture during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Rather than treating contact with Europeans as a sharp divide between a time before and a time after, it approaches the period as one of entanglement and negotiation between the Caddo and the encroaching colonial powers of France and Spain. An emphasis is placed on selective engagement with new materials and technologies in ways that reinforce the possession of agency by people in the Americas. The study focuses on four primary archaeological sites associated with Caddo communities present during the relevant period: Womack (41LR1), Sanders (41LR2), McLelland (16BO236), and Mayhew (41NA21). All of these sites are located in the vicinity of the Red River Valley in eastern Texas and northwestern Louisiana, with primary occupation occurring between 1650 and the mid-18th century. Using published reports on excavations and artifacts held in inventories, this paper analyzes the presence and distribution of materials originating from Europeans, and how these materials were modified once in the hands of the Caddo. The types of objects covered in this examination include glass beads, metal tools, gun parts, and brass kettles. Quantitative comparisons of artifact categories are conducted alongside an analysis of their archaeological context, with analysis of both mortuary and domestic settings. The geopolitical position of the Caddo during this period between spheres of Spanish and French influence helped to the shape the nature of material exchange between the three. Differences in the recorded presence of trade goods originating from either European nation reflect the competitive nature of colonial attempts in the region, a nature that was readily taken advantage of by the Caddo. In trading with Europeans long-standing indigenous trade networks were used, influencing the mechanism through which goods entered Caddo communities and were integrated. The results show that European materials were unevenly distributed across sites and categories, with a high quantity of glass beads followed by brass and iron objects. Brass objects in particular showed a high degree of modification by the Caddo, shaping the base material into more culturally meaningful forms, such as tinklers used to adorn clothing and make noise during dancing rituals. Examples such as this prove an active engagement on the part of the Caddo rather than the model of passive assimilation argued by older models. By selectively choosing which objects to adopt into Caddo society while retaining other practices like local ceramics production, the Caddo exhibits remarkable continuity and adaptation, and nothing near a complete cultural transformation.Show less

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Familiar Ways for New Things: The Adoption and Adaptation of European Materials by the Caddo in the Early Post-Contact Period