Archaeologists discovered a treasure trove of over 80 metal objects in Mississippi that belonged to Hernando De Soto's 16th century expedition through the Southeast. The Chickasaws used many of the objects as ornaments and household tools, which was unusual at a time when European goods were scarce in North America.Researchers believe that Spaniards fled Chickasaw attacks in 1541, which resulted from frayed relations between the two groups. The winners took advantage of the spoils -- axe heads and blades, as well as other items made from iron, lead, and copper alloy -- and modified many of them for local purposes and tastes. Chickasaw craftspeople transformed pieces of Spanish horseshoes and barrel bands into tools for scraping, cutting tools, and copper bits into pendants.Charles Cobb, lead author of the study and Florida Museum of Natural History Lockwood Chair In Historical Archaeology, stated that the sheer number of items from the site is one of the key factors that made the find unique.Cobb stated that "typically, we might only find a few European objects in connection to a high-status individual or other special circumstances." Cobb said that this was more like an open season, a pulse of goods which became readily available for a brief period.Cobb stated that Stark Farms, if correct in its diagnosis, is the second location to provide convincing archaeological evidence of de Soto's expedition contact. This is after Cobb's historic site at Anhaica, the Apalachee capital."Unconquered and Unconquerable"De Soto had travelled more than 600 miles through the Southeast in less than a year by the time he arrived in Mississippi in 1540. He also had hundreds of horses, pigs, and heavy equipment. De Soto, a shrewd man known for his bloodshed and previous involvement in the Spanish destruction in South America of the Inca Empire, came to Florida to increase his wealth. He found little gold and pushed deeper into the interior, befriending and fighting with Native Americans.AdvertisementThe Spaniards started on friendly terms with the Chickasaws. Their leader, Chikasha Minko gave them a small village to live in the winter. Tensions rose over the months. De Soto executed two Chickasaws, and also cut the hands of another suspect in stealing pigs. Cobb stated that the Chickasaws, who grew maize in the rich prairie soil of the region, must have become tired of providing shelter and food for such an encampment.De Soto requested that Chikasha Minko supply him with hundreds upon hundreds of Chickasaws in order to transport the equipment of the Spaniards to their next destination as spring was nearing. According to Spanish accounts, the conversation didn't go as planned.The Chickasaws attacked the Spanish camp under night cover and killed at least 12 men. They set up a second camp about a mile from the Spanish retreating camp, and were again attacked. They were better prepared and fought back. However, they quickly picked up and headed north after losing much of their livestock, clothing, and goods.The Chickasaws also collected from the battlefield many valuable metal objects that were usually kept by the Europeans as gifts or strategic trades.Cobb stated, "It's almost like inflation." Cobb said, "You don’t want to have too many things to get out otherwise that gift will be devalued." This is what makes this site unique.The region was almost entirely free from European influence for close to 150 years after the Chickasaws expelled the Spanish.AdvertisementBrad Lieb, Chickasaw Nation's Heritage Preservation Division director of Chickasaw archaeology, said that the research "shows how Chickasaws adapted and secured their reputation for being unconquered" and was co-author. "The results are amazing in how they address a fundamental event in Chickasaw culture history, the first encounter with Hernando De Soto and the Spanish invaders."Metal detectors confirm the history of metal detectionCobb, Lieb, and their coworkers arrived at Stark Farms to search for de Soto traces when they first arrived in 2015. The Chickasaw Nation was forced to move from Oklahoma to its homeland by the U.S. Department of War 1837. They had asked the team to find and preserve ancestral sites, and to provide Chickasaw students with the opportunity to reconnect to their heritage through an archaeology program.The team studied the environmental factors that influenced Native Americans' movements across the landscape. Radiocarbon dates indicated that people lived in this area since at least the 15th or 14th centuries. The researchers brought metal detectors to investigate the potential interactions of early residents with outsiders. This is a fast way to find objects of European origin. The detectors began to ping the day after they were deployed. The team soon discovered dozens of items including a small cannon ball and a mouthharp.Cobb stated, "We couldn’t believe it." Cobb said, "There was a lot serendipity for certain."Spanish accounts of de Soto's expedition and the 1541 battle of Chikasha (the main Chickasaw village) were matched by the style and type and location of these objects. Researchers found no evidence of a burned village, or remains of horses and/or pigs. Cobb stated that the village was located near Chikasha and its inhabitants likely visited the site to bring items back home. Some of the objects may have been acquired by them through trades with Spanish soldiers.The Chickasaws relied on bone and cane as their raw materials for cutting and scraping. This made the haul of metal an especially lucrative opportunity. Some objects are still in their original forms, but the Chickasaws meticulously transformed others into familiar shapes. They bent the metal back and forth, until it was broken and then ground it down. Then they smoothed out the edges and modified tools to match the Chickasaw design.Cobb stated, "One of our most remarkable finds is an exact iron reproduction of a Native American stone cellt, or axehead," Cobb said. "This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen in the Southeast."Chain links were one of the most disturbing finds, which were pulled apart with sharpened edges. Cobb stated that the Spanish brought with them reams upon reams chain to shackle Native Americans and their porters. "This is evidence that Europeans enslaved people in the United States for the first time."Stark Farms' reconstructed items represent an era of Native American experimentation with foreign objects that was largely lost in the 1800s and late 1700s as they incorporated European technology and materials more fully into their own.A thimble could be made into a bangle in the 1500s. Cobb stated that a "thimble" is now a "thimble" by the late 1700s. You will see more frequent adoptions of goods as you age.Spanish survivors made their own repurposingDe Soto was unsuccessful in establishing permanent settlements in Southeast. He joined a series of failed expeditions that showed the fragility of Europeans' initial attempts to rule the region. In 1542, he fell ill with a fever and the rest of his men made rafts to sail south to Mexico. They were able to return to Spain.Cobb stated that they began a repurposing project. After failing to achieve fame and fortune in America, they sold their stories. Many of them became bestsellers."There was a thriving market in survival stories and explorer tales. This is likely one reason why some of these people provided their accounts. It was modern from that perspective.These objects will be returned to the Chickasaw Nation as permanent exhibits and curation.The study was co-authored by Steven Smith, James Legg and Chester DePratter of South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology and Edmond Boudreaux of University of Mississippi. The study was reviewed by the Chickasaw Nation to ensure that it is consistent with its historical records.The research was funded and co-led by the Chickasaw Nation as well as its Chickasaw Explorers Program. The National Geographic Society also funded a portion of the fieldwork.
