European Trade Goods

Archaeological research has played a key role in understanding the history of the fur trade in eastern North America. For this reason, most of our knowledge has, to a large extent, been object-centered. The developing trade between colonial settlers and the Indians of eastern North America is therefore best understood in three divisions. The first stage of trade seems to date between the 1400’s and 1580 or slightly later when fishermen began trading with the Indians. A second stage of trade becomes more evident between 1590 and 1629 with increased European presence and the reorganization of aboriginal power centers. The third and final stage began about 1630 with the inclusion of firearms as trade items by the French traders.