Finding a Heart-Shaped Ring

Hello! My name is Paige and I’m entering my Junior year at Western as an anthropology major.  I decided to join the field school to try archaeology and see if it’s something I would like to continue as a career path. This year, the fieldwork has strayed from the syllabus due to weather conditions but it has been more exciting than I could have ever hoped, filled with great finds as a group and on a personal level. Our noteworthy finds include an 18th-century iron fishing hook, a piece of gun flint, seed beads, lead shot, window glass, bone fragments, and a piece of creamware. On Tuesday, July 30th, as I examined a wet screen full of freshly excavated dirt, I noticed a dainty piece of metal in the mud. As soon as I realized what I was holding, I called the lab coordinator, Adyn, over to look at the plaque ring in my hand. The heart-shaped piece was missing most of the band but the distinct initial ‘M’ in the center made me confident that I was looking at a piece of jewelry. 

The ring fragment and brass button
recovered while wet screening.

The first thought I had while holding the partial ring was how similar it had looked to the pictures of other iconographic "Jesuit" rings I had seen at The History Museum in South Bend and at the Niles History Center earlier in the season as we waited for field conditions to dry up. The shape was distinct, the initial was neat, and the size was like any other ring I’d seen. It was so small but felt so significant, and upon further research I’ve gotten to better understand this piece and its meaning. 

To help my research on this type of ring and its significance, I read Judith Ann Hauser’s (1982) book, "Jesuit Rings at Fort Michilimackinac and Other European Contact Sites." The two sites where the most iconographic rings were found in Hauser's study were primarily trading posts, with 47 percent coming from Michilimackinac and Fort St. Joseph. The wider question of where the rings come from is still being answered today, with speculation on whether the rings were imported from other parts of New France or Europe.

The differing shapes and insignias are thought to be references to Catholicism; historical documentation indicates that the original intent of the rings was to help convert Native Americans to the Catholic religion. Ring insignia records include a crucifix held in clasped hands, stylized hearts, letters and other more obscure iconography. Comparing Hauser’s findings to the ring we found, it seems likely that the heart represents Jesus’ heart. The double-M motif stands for the Latin words Mater Misericordia or “Mother of Mercy”. Letters with “A” or “M” may stand for Ave Maria. Another suggestion reasons that the letters on the rings could have been remarked with likely sets of customers’ initials, although letters on rings are often redundant and occur singularly. 

Looking at ring shape patterns from Hauser's study, twenty of the fifty-two rings in the Pre-Project Fort St. Joseph collection were cast, and six were engraved with round or oval plaques. The remainder were octagonal or heart-shaped. Hauser references Charles Cleland’s findings in “From Sacred to Profane: Style Drift in the Decoration of Jesuit Finger Rings” (1972), stating that early rings were well made items with high quality cast designs. The reduction in quality and workmanship was coincidental to an increase in production, and the increase of production brought a change of function to Jesuit rings. Jesuit rings changed from cast to engraved designs during their history, and, in the process, changed from early religious motifs to motifs that may not be religious at all. Engraving on rings may have changed through time because iconography, over a relatively short period of time, became meaningless to those who created them. Cleland dates octagonal and heart-shaped rings between 1700 and 1780, aligning with Fort St. Joseph being established in 1681 and occupied during the 18th century. It also supports the notion that the ring was manufactured elsewhere.

To think of the extensive trip this small piece of metal made in such early moments of our Country’s history is bewildering. There’s no better feeling than seeing a piece of the past and realizing that the item you hold hasn’t likely seen the light of day in nearly three hundred years. This discovery was very special to me and has sparked a new excitement in me for continuing archaeology as my career. On a personal note, I’ve really enjoyed my time at field school and have gotten to familiarize myself with work that used to feel so foreign. I’ve met other students and community members who have changed the way I’ve thought about history and making information and history more accessible to others. 

- Paige Pemble

References:

Jesuit Rings from Fort Michilimackinac and other European contact sites

By Judith Ann Hauser (1982)

(65) Cleland, Charles E. —“From Sacred to Profane: Style Drift in the Decoration of Jesuit Finger Rings” American Antiquity , Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 202-210, Washington, D.C. (1972)