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Heather Walder
I am an anthropological archaeologist interested in interregional interaction and diaspora communities of the Upper Great Lakes during the 17th century. Since 2018, I have co-directed Gete Anishinaabeg Izhichigewin, a community archaeology project in partnership with the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Collaborative, community-based research and lab-based analytical methods inform my work. I am passionate about undergraduate education and public outreach, and I actively involve students and community members in my current research, including training in data collection and management strategies.
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authority and legitimacy, and increasing urbanism, trade, and socio-political complexity in ancient South Asia (Kenoyer 2006a,b).
During the Early Historic period, imperial edicts commonly attributed to the Mauryan ruler Ashoka, (c. 272 to 232 BC) were
inscribed on boulders and stone pillars, constituting the first stone inscriptions in South Asia. This paper explores inscription
carving technology and styles through the methods of experimental archaeology and a metric analysis of a cluster of Ashokan
edicts in South India. Results of carving the experimental inscription provided a model for investigating the carving styles of
the Ashokan edicts. Research methods developed from the experiment were used to assess eight ‘Minor Rock Edicts’ located
in the Southern Deccan region in Karnataka, far from the central Mauryan capital at Pataliputra. Analysis of the southern
edicts revealed that carving styles differed among geographically separate edicts and within single monuments. Inscription
styles, including depth of carving, thickness of lines, regularity of distribution, and height and width of the letters provide
evidence of difference in carving techniques. The examination of technological style in the inscriptions was undertaken to
assess administrative control and effort involved in creating the Ashokan edicts, providing an alternative line of evidence to
contrast epigraphic studies of the significance of these texts. Comparing the Karnataka edict group with edicts in other areas
demonstrated differing inscription contexts in the southern region, signifying elements of heterogeneity within the Mauryan
polity at the time of their carving.
history of the Cloudman site (20CH6), once interpreted as an early “Contact” period site in Michigan. The original
chronology of the site, located on northern Michigan’s Drummond Island in Lake Huron, was based on an apparent association
of Iroquoian pottery with European-made trade goods relatively dated to circa AD 1630. Current advances in archaeological
dating methods have revealed new insights into the poorly understood settlement patterns and social interactions of
various Upper Great Lakes groups between AD 1300 and 1700. Accelerator mass spectrometry dating of carbonized food residue
collected from late Late Woodland and Ontario Iroquoian pottery vessels suggests some contemporaneous use of both
styles and the culmination of occupation by pottery-making groups by AD 1500. Elemental analysis of glass beads indicates
that the recovered trade items were likely manufactured post–AD 1650. Likewise, compositional analysis of copper-base metal
artifacts clarifies how such objects were made and used over time at the site. The results demonstrate how the application of
modern analytic methods to curated collections can lead to significant reinterpretation, ultimately enhancing understandings
of regional chronologies, social relationships, and population movements.
and intercultural contact.
Full text pdf available from author upon request.
presents the results and interpretations of undergraduate research in Lab Methods in Archaeology (ANP 463) at Michigan State University in spring of 2017. Students conducted pXRF analyses of artifacts from two mid-late seventeenth-century archaeological sites in the Upper Peninsula
of Michigan: the Cloudman site (20CH6), an early historic campsite on Drummond Island; and the Marquette Mission site (20MK82), a probable Tionontate village in close proximity to a Jesuit mission at St. Ignace. Results provided new information on the persistence of native-copper metallurgical practices in colonial contexts and the introduction
of smelted-copper trade items at these sites, furthering the understanding of interactions among Native American communities as well as European explorers, traders, and missionaries in this area. Students participating in this investigation first-hand experience in all stages of a lab-based archaeological research project.
Since the 1960s, archaeologists, historians, descendant communities, and others have worked to investigate material outcomes of intercultural encounters in the Midwest from a variety of perspectives. This volume results from collaboration among scholars who presented at the conference.
In this introductory paper, we highlight theoretical frameworks, specifically the concepts of survivance and resilience, which thematically unite the papers in this volume. Such theoretical frameworks highlight the agency of individuals and communities and the historical contingency of colonial encounters. This postcolonial approach allows for more thorough discussions and expands on
Quimby’s oft-cited text. We emphasize new techniques and perspectives that both build on and revise our understanding of historical archaeology and Quimby’s historic chronology in the western Great Lakes region.
This article describes analyses of the glass trade-bead
assemblage of the Goose Lake Outlet #3 (GLO#3) site
(20MQ140), a probable short-term winter campsite located
in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Based on typological
and attribute analysis of the beads, which employed the
Kidd and Kidd classification system and comparison with
published “glass bead periods” or GBPs developed for
assemblages in Ontario, the GLO#3 bead assemblage is
assigned a date within the 1630s. Comparison with other
midwestern protohistoric assemblages further supports this
interpretation. Situated within a protohistoric period of
intercultural interaction and exchange, the material culture
from the site provides archaeological evidence for some of
the earliest arrivals of European-made trade items in the
Midwest.
production process using experimental archaeology, the process of recreating ancient technologies in an effort to better understand them. Prior attempts to replicate this process have produced conclusions that are inconsistent with the material properties of glass and metal components involved in the process. Through documenting the physical
properties of glass pendants from archaeological contexts and experimenting with replicating this technology, a probable production sequence for making refired glass pendants is proposed.
I applied elemental characterization and attribute analysis methods that revealed how long-standing technological practices, such as native copper-working, persisted through time and what techniques people developed to adapt to new materials, allowing me to build inferences about the social significance of these technologies. Laser Ablation – Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was used to identify the “recipes” of 874 glass adornments, which revealed chronological change in glass-making technology in Europe and Native glass reworking methods in North America. A portable X-Ray Fluorescence (pXRF) pilot study and physical attribute analysis of 3,705 copper-base metal artifacts such as beads, tinkling cones, other ornaments, partially worked blanks, and waste products revealed patterns in types and styles of finished objects, the mean size of discarded materials, and continuity of technological practice over time. The project verified pXRF as a viable technique for differentiating native and smelted copper without any cleaning of corroded artifacts.
Conducting new laboratory-based analyses on previously excavated artifacts has enhanced the value of existing collections and highlights the importance of long-term curation strategies for artifacts as well as associated excavation records, maps, and other primary documentation of provenience information and recovery methods. Together, metal and glass analyses demonstrated that the diverse peoples inhabiting the Upper Great Lakes region accessed different quantities and kinds of trade items, and that the trade items themselves and technological methods applied to them varied through time, across space, and according to the historically-attributed ethnic identity of communities.
now routinely conduct analyses of artifact distributions at
the intrasite level, using Geographic Information Systems
(GIS) and other mapping technologies to record and visualize
spatial data, sometimes even in real-time during excavations,
application of GIS methods to older collections are rarer. This case study (1) documents methods used to map feature-associated artifacts and identify spatial patterning, (2) presents new visualizations of artifact distributions at the Bell site, and (3) revises earlier interpretations of the community plan of the site (Behm 1998, 2008). The results
demonstrate the importance of continuing to update curation
and research strategies for previously collected artifacts and archaeological data, using a method that is widely applicable to other archaeological sites and that makes effective use of existing cultural resources.
authority and legitimacy, and increasing urbanism, trade, and socio-political complexity in ancient South Asia (Kenoyer 2006a,b).
During the Early Historic period, imperial edicts commonly attributed to the Mauryan ruler Ashoka, (c. 272 to 232 BC) were
inscribed on boulders and stone pillars, constituting the first stone inscriptions in South Asia. This paper explores inscription
carving technology and styles through the methods of experimental archaeology and a metric analysis of a cluster of Ashokan
edicts in South India. Results of carving the experimental inscription provided a model for investigating the carving styles of
the Ashokan edicts. Research methods developed from the experiment were used to assess eight ‘Minor Rock Edicts’ located
in the Southern Deccan region in Karnataka, far from the central Mauryan capital at Pataliputra. Analysis of the southern
edicts revealed that carving styles differed among geographically separate edicts and within single monuments. Inscription
styles, including depth of carving, thickness of lines, regularity of distribution, and height and width of the letters provide
evidence of difference in carving techniques. The examination of technological style in the inscriptions was undertaken to
assess administrative control and effort involved in creating the Ashokan edicts, providing an alternative line of evidence to
contrast epigraphic studies of the significance of these texts. Comparing the Karnataka edict group with edicts in other areas
demonstrated differing inscription contexts in the southern region, signifying elements of heterogeneity within the Mauryan
polity at the time of their carving.
history of the Cloudman site (20CH6), once interpreted as an early “Contact” period site in Michigan. The original
chronology of the site, located on northern Michigan’s Drummond Island in Lake Huron, was based on an apparent association
of Iroquoian pottery with European-made trade goods relatively dated to circa AD 1630. Current advances in archaeological
dating methods have revealed new insights into the poorly understood settlement patterns and social interactions of
various Upper Great Lakes groups between AD 1300 and 1700. Accelerator mass spectrometry dating of carbonized food residue
collected from late Late Woodland and Ontario Iroquoian pottery vessels suggests some contemporaneous use of both
styles and the culmination of occupation by pottery-making groups by AD 1500. Elemental analysis of glass beads indicates
that the recovered trade items were likely manufactured post–AD 1650. Likewise, compositional analysis of copper-base metal
artifacts clarifies how such objects were made and used over time at the site. The results demonstrate how the application of
modern analytic methods to curated collections can lead to significant reinterpretation, ultimately enhancing understandings
of regional chronologies, social relationships, and population movements.
and intercultural contact.
Full text pdf available from author upon request.
presents the results and interpretations of undergraduate research in Lab Methods in Archaeology (ANP 463) at Michigan State University in spring of 2017. Students conducted pXRF analyses of artifacts from two mid-late seventeenth-century archaeological sites in the Upper Peninsula
of Michigan: the Cloudman site (20CH6), an early historic campsite on Drummond Island; and the Marquette Mission site (20MK82), a probable Tionontate village in close proximity to a Jesuit mission at St. Ignace. Results provided new information on the persistence of native-copper metallurgical practices in colonial contexts and the introduction
of smelted-copper trade items at these sites, furthering the understanding of interactions among Native American communities as well as European explorers, traders, and missionaries in this area. Students participating in this investigation first-hand experience in all stages of a lab-based archaeological research project.
Since the 1960s, archaeologists, historians, descendant communities, and others have worked to investigate material outcomes of intercultural encounters in the Midwest from a variety of perspectives. This volume results from collaboration among scholars who presented at the conference.
In this introductory paper, we highlight theoretical frameworks, specifically the concepts of survivance and resilience, which thematically unite the papers in this volume. Such theoretical frameworks highlight the agency of individuals and communities and the historical contingency of colonial encounters. This postcolonial approach allows for more thorough discussions and expands on
Quimby’s oft-cited text. We emphasize new techniques and perspectives that both build on and revise our understanding of historical archaeology and Quimby’s historic chronology in the western Great Lakes region.
This article describes analyses of the glass trade-bead
assemblage of the Goose Lake Outlet #3 (GLO#3) site
(20MQ140), a probable short-term winter campsite located
in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Based on typological
and attribute analysis of the beads, which employed the
Kidd and Kidd classification system and comparison with
published “glass bead periods” or GBPs developed for
assemblages in Ontario, the GLO#3 bead assemblage is
assigned a date within the 1630s. Comparison with other
midwestern protohistoric assemblages further supports this
interpretation. Situated within a protohistoric period of
intercultural interaction and exchange, the material culture
from the site provides archaeological evidence for some of
the earliest arrivals of European-made trade items in the
Midwest.
production process using experimental archaeology, the process of recreating ancient technologies in an effort to better understand them. Prior attempts to replicate this process have produced conclusions that are inconsistent with the material properties of glass and metal components involved in the process. Through documenting the physical
properties of glass pendants from archaeological contexts and experimenting with replicating this technology, a probable production sequence for making refired glass pendants is proposed.
I applied elemental characterization and attribute analysis methods that revealed how long-standing technological practices, such as native copper-working, persisted through time and what techniques people developed to adapt to new materials, allowing me to build inferences about the social significance of these technologies. Laser Ablation – Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was used to identify the “recipes” of 874 glass adornments, which revealed chronological change in glass-making technology in Europe and Native glass reworking methods in North America. A portable X-Ray Fluorescence (pXRF) pilot study and physical attribute analysis of 3,705 copper-base metal artifacts such as beads, tinkling cones, other ornaments, partially worked blanks, and waste products revealed patterns in types and styles of finished objects, the mean size of discarded materials, and continuity of technological practice over time. The project verified pXRF as a viable technique for differentiating native and smelted copper without any cleaning of corroded artifacts.
Conducting new laboratory-based analyses on previously excavated artifacts has enhanced the value of existing collections and highlights the importance of long-term curation strategies for artifacts as well as associated excavation records, maps, and other primary documentation of provenience information and recovery methods. Together, metal and glass analyses demonstrated that the diverse peoples inhabiting the Upper Great Lakes region accessed different quantities and kinds of trade items, and that the trade items themselves and technological methods applied to them varied through time, across space, and according to the historically-attributed ethnic identity of communities.
now routinely conduct analyses of artifact distributions at
the intrasite level, using Geographic Information Systems
(GIS) and other mapping technologies to record and visualize
spatial data, sometimes even in real-time during excavations,
application of GIS methods to older collections are rarer. This case study (1) documents methods used to map feature-associated artifacts and identify spatial patterning, (2) presents new visualizations of artifact distributions at the Bell site, and (3) revises earlier interpretations of the community plan of the site (Behm 1998, 2008). The results
demonstrate the importance of continuing to update curation
and research strategies for previously collected artifacts and archaeological data, using a method that is widely applicable to other archaeological sites and that makes effective use of existing cultural resources.
In collaboration with the Michigan State University Laboratory for the Education and Advancement in Digital Research, (LEADR), Honors Introduction to Archaeology (ANP 203H) Fall 2016 students designed webpages to explore endangered UNESCO World Heritage sites. The objectives of the assignment were to research factors and current events leading to the endangerment of a chosen site, and to reflect on heritage site destruction and its implications in the modern world. This lightning round presentation highlights the project goals, instructional design, and pedagogical outcomes of the Endangered Sites project: http://endangeredsites.leadr.msu.edu/
Throughout the ANP 203H final course unit, students learned the value of archaeological research for present day applications, providing insight into addressing modern world issues such as conflict and war, climate change, mass migration of people, poverty, and inequality. The Endangered Sites project helped students understand how such issues can directly affect archaeological sites, sometimes the very sites that provide long-term historical insight on global issues today. Student webpages explored a cultural site on the UNESCO World Heritage in Danger list, assessed specific factors threatening the site, and considered the findings of archaeological research at a variety of sites.
Students were encouraged to create a project that they would be excited to share with classmates and maintain as part of a professional portfolio. Collaboration with peers on webpage design was essential as students learned the basics of the WordPress platform. Linking to current news articles and multimedia content helped students gain awareness of our changing world and read critically about archaeology in the news. Through this digital humanities exploration, students gained broad knowledge of the range of issues in heritage preservation while simultaneously delving deep into the issues of their individual site. Such critical engagement with both depth and breadth of knowledge are key for developing students’ understandings of global heritage today.
http://www.msuglobaldh.org/schedule/abstracts/#Walder