Unique Heart-Shaped Jesuit Ring At Fort St. Joseph In Michigan

Conny Waters - AncientPages.com - While excavating at fort St. Joseph in Michigan, an archaeology student unearthed a beautiful, unique heart-shaped Jesuit ring.

The intact ring has been dated to the 1700s and is "believed to have been a trade trinket used when southwest Michigan was known as New France, experts say. The fort, about 95 miles east of Chicago, was key part of France’s presence in the Great Lakes region, serving as a “mission, garrison, and trading post” before being abandoned in 1781. Such historic baubles have come to be known as ”Jesuit rings,” the Charlotte Observer reports.

Credit: The Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

The region has been connected with the Jesuits for quite some time. "In 1691 a French military post was established on
the St. Joseph River, approximately one mile south of the present city of Niles, Michigan. Shortly prior to that time a Jesuit mission was established in the vicinity in order to serve the Miami Indians and the few French traders residing in the area.

The Military post, mission, and civilian village operated throughout the late seventeenth century and first three-quarters of the eighteenth century.

Credit: The Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

In 1761 the French surrendered the fortification to the English who controlled it until the Pontiac uprising two years later. After one year of occupation by the Potawatomie, the fort was again reclaimed by the British. For the next thirty years both English soldiers and French civilians occupied Fort St. Joseph until its destruction by Spanish forces in 1781." ¹

“Fort St. Joseph was occupied from the 1680s to the 1780s so the ring could have been lost at any point during that time frame,” according to Erika Hartley, field director and curatorial fellow at the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project.

Hartley says the discovered Jesuit ring "was most likely manufactured prior to its arrival at the fort, but at this point it is hard to narrow down a specific date."

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Based on previous studies of similar artifacts, archaeologists have "recognized the potential for using “Jesuit” rings to date contact period sites. These rings are unset copper-alloy finger rings exchanged between European colonists and Native Americans in the 17th and 18th centuries, popularly referred to as “Jesuit” rings but used widely throughout
colonial society." 2

In New France, Jesuit rings with different religious motifs were used for trade.

"Mercier (2011) examined several "Jesuit" rings and categorized their chronological and geographical distribution across New France based on a technological typology: cast rings, cut and soldered rings, and stamped and soldered rings. She recognized three main phases for the rings use: introductory (1575-1650), peak (1650-1715), and decline phase (1715-1780) (2011: 33). The introductory phase is when rings, specifically the cast rings, were first appearing in the St. Lawrence River Valley (Mercier 2011:34). The peak of the trade rings was shown through the increased volume and varieties available in New France (Mercier 2011:35).

For instance, Mercier (2011) recognized that cast rings, cut and soldered rings, and stamped and soldered rings have been recovered archaeologically the peak phase and their distribution extends beyond the St. Lawrence Valley into the western and southern regions of New France. There were several changes in the economy during this time that likely contributed to the peak phase. For instance, the creation of the royal government during the second half of the seventeenth century led to new governing over the colony and increased trade. The number of expeditions also grew, stimulating trade throughout New France. In the early eighteenth century, the use of "Jesuit" rings began to decline slowly, disappearing almost completely in the 1780s (Mercier 35-36).

Overall, "Jesuit" rings have been recovered from seventeenth- and eighteenth-century sites like Fort St. Joseph throughout New France. They appear to have been used during both the French and British occupation, with a higher concentration during the French period (Stone 1974: 131). All three of the iconographic ring technological types (cast rings, cut and soldered rings, and stamped and soldered rings) are present in our Fort St. Joseph collection. Some have been recovered archaeologically at the site, while others were donated in the early twentieth century. Examples of each type can be found on display at the Niles History Center for those who have a chance to visit.

This has been my favorite find this season and I am so excited I got to share it with you! Look out for more updates," Western Michigan University student Kylie Krueger who discovered the Jesuit ring writes on the project blog.

Article in Portuguese - here

Written by Conny Waters - AncientPages.com Staff Writer

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