Hudson’s Bay Company Fort Vancouver,
1829-1860
Abstract
Archaeological excavations conducted at Hudson's Bay Company Fort Vancouver recovered 100,000+ trade beads of 152 varieties, including 80 varieties of drawn, 57 varieties of wound, 10 varieties of mold-pressed and 3 varieties of blown-glass beads; as well as one variety each of "Prosser-molded" ceramic and cut-stone beads (Ross 1976, 1990). An additional 6000+ beads recovered from excavations at the HBC Kanaka village and riverside complex sites may included 39 additional varieties possibly associated with the HBC occupation, including: 17 varieties of drawn, 12 varieties of wound, and 5 varieties of mold-pressed beads, as well as one variety each of stone, bone, wood, metal and shell beads. The fort bead assemblage has contributed to the initial definition of a complex temporal and cultural horizon marker dating from 1829 to 1860 for the Pacific Northwest, and provides insights into mid-19th century Native-American and Euro-American bead preferences. Analysis of the assemblage demonstrates difficulties inherent in the existing archaeological bead classification system, and suggestions for revisions are discussed.
Summary
Fort Vancouver is located on the north shore of the Columbia River at present-day Vancouver, Washington. The original Fort Vancouver was established in 1824 as the administrative headquarters and primary fur depot for the HBC Western Department. The original stockaded fort was abandoned in 1829 for an expanded establishment a few kilometers to the west and closer to the river. Between 1824 to 1845, Fort Vancouver retained its prominence as department headquarters, servicing no fewer than 38 forts, stores, houses and warehouses throughout present-day Oregon, Idaho, Washington and British Columbia.
When the National Park Service acquired the site of Fort Vancouver in 1947, nothing remained of the stockade or its buildings. Various archaeological excavations were conducted from 1947, culminating in excavations of various building sites for a major reconstruction project in the 1970s. Archaeological excavations conducted within the fort resulted in the recovery of 104,680 trade beads. Of these, 94,877 (90.6%) came from five structural areas (Fig. 4), including
Fur Store, with a portion of the building used as the first Indian trade store (Structure 16.1), ca. 1829 to 1843-44; second hospital dispensary (structure 15.2), ca. 1829 to ca. 1843-44; and as the second fur store (structure 11.2), ca. 1841-44 to 1849-53. As a fur store, it served both as a storehouse and packing house for imported goods (including beads) and for furs awaiting export. This site produced at least 50,671 trade beads (48.4% of the fort bead assemblage) attributed primarily to the use of the structure as a fur store. Due to the quantity of beads present in the structural area, and because of the time required to sort beads from the bead-sized gravel matrix, a large quantity of the matrix was not thoroughly examined after a representative sample of beads was recovered. All beads larger than "seed" beads were removed from the matrix, and the remaining unsorted matrix with remaining "seed" beads is stored for future study at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.
Sales Shop (Structure 31); used ca. 1829 to 1860 as a store for the sale of goods to Euro-American settlers; 22,675 trade beads (21.7% of the fort bead assemblage) recovered.
Indian Trade Store and Missionary Store, with a portion of the building used as the missionary store (Structure 20), ca. 1834-36 to 1843-44 with temporary living quarters and a storehouse for American missionaries; and as the second Indian trade store (structure 16.2), used ca. 1829 to 1843-44 for trading with Native-Americans; as the third hospital dispensary (structure 15.3), ca. 1843-44 to 1852-53; as the third fur store (structure 11.3), 1849-53 to 1860; and with a missionary store privy (structure 44.10) behind the store adjacent to the stockade, used ca. 1834-36 to ca. 1860. This building site and associated privy, produced 15,235 beads (14.6% of the fort bead assemblage) attributed primarily to the use of the structure as an Indian trade store.
Bachelors' Quarters Privies including two second bachelors' quarters late privies (Structures 44.9.4 and 44.9.5) behind the bachelors' quarters adjacent to the stockade, used ca. 1841 to ca. 1860. Excavations recovered 5686 trade beads (5.4% of the fort bead assemblage) attributed to the families of the HBC officers who inhabited the bachelors' quarters.
Chief Factor's House, or second chief factor's house (Structure 10.2), used 1837-38 to 1860 as the family residence and dining hall for the principal officers and gentlemen of the Columbia Department. Excavations recovered 610 trade beads (<0.001% of the fort bead assemblage) attributed to the families of the principal HBC officers who inhabited the house.
The remaining 9803 beads (9.4% of the fort bead assemblage) came from a variety of structures including the stockades, bakery, wash house, harness shop, kitchen, bastions, blacksmith shop and iron store.
The bead assemblage from Fort Vancouver provides an excellent type collection for identifying cultural and temporal affiliations for the Pacific Northwest from 1829 to 1860. The assemblage has been used to infer a complex, horizon marker for dating other sites in the northwest. This horizon marker includes undecorated, monochrome drawn and wound beads, undecorated polychrome drawn beads and facetted, monochrome drawn and mold-pressed beads. Decorated beads are notably infrequent in the fort assemblage, probably due to their relatively high value.
Subtle changes in preferred bead colors and styles during the 30-year period suggest that red-on-white, red-on-pink and white-on-white drawn beads may have been common prior to the mid-1840s, with purple beads and monochrome, white beads becoming common after the mid-1840s. There may be other subtle variations, such as the appearance of mold-pressed beads with ground facets and punched perforations after the mid-1830s, and the introduction of mold-pressed beads with molded facets possibly after the 1850s. Definitely, the appearance of "Prosser-molded" beads coincides with their 1840 patent date, but their presence may also signify an a post-1850s American source, rather than an HBC or British source. Similarly, the presence of multi-sided, drawn beads with four rows of ground facets also may signify an American rather than British source.
Correlations of historical bead terms from HBC documents with archaeological groupings have been limited. "Cut glass" beads appear to compare favorably on the basis of color with facetted, multi-sided drawn bead (subtypes If-d and IIIf-d), and may included facetted, mold-pressed beads (type MPIIa-sppgf). "Canton" beads appear to represent blue, "spherical" wound beads. The only countries positively identified as bead distribution sources for Fort Vancouver were Great Britain and China, perhaps the United States; with probable manufacturing sources being China, Bohemia (now part of Czechoslovakia), probably Venice and perhaps Great Britain.
Size analysis of the hot-tumbled, drawn beads indicates that "seed" beads were sized by sieving, and evidence from discrete varieties indicates that at least two intervals existed, 0.5 mm and 0.8 mm. Discrete sizes for wound beads are generally non-demonstrable, except for the three sizes of blue, "spherical" wound beads ("Canton" beads) which have 4-mm intervals betweem sizes. If sizes exist for the facetted, mold-pressed beads, they may be based upon 1-mm intervals. As with the all molded beads, sizes are generally determined by the size of the mold. However, mold sizes may not be based upon uniform intervals, and until more specimens are measured, identification of mold sizes will be speculative. Size analysis of "Prosser-molded" beads may provided the best evidence for the existence and definition of mold sizes.
Glass and ceramic bead varieties
References
Ross, Lester A.
1976 Fort Vancouver, 1829-1860: A Historical Archeological Investigation of the Goods Imported and Manufactured by the Hudson's Bay Company. Ms. National Park Service, Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, Vancouver, Washington.
1990 Trade Beads from Hudson's Bay Company Fort Vancouver (1829-1860), Vancouver, Washington. Beads 2:29-67. Society of Bead Researchers.
15 February 2005