archaeological and textual records - eCommons@Cornell - Cornell ...

one, no records exist from this time containing a first-person indigenous perspective
on religion, and secondly, the accounts of any Seneca faithful are very limited. Again,
it is important to note that many of the Christians residing on Seneca lands who are
mentioned in Jesuit Relations appear to be from Huron or other origins. Another
problem is that the window of time for the missions is so small; had the Jesuit
missions to the Seneca lasted a century or more, there would likely be some additional
testimonies concerning subsequent generations.
However, I remain hopeful that ongoing research into the archaeological
findings at Seneca sites may illuminate more about the religiosity in play during the
last half of the seventeenth and early eighteenth century. The assemblage of religious
medals located at White Springs, Snyder-McClure, Huntoon, and Townley-Read is
particularly fascinating. As the data shows, the religious medals, which are arguably
more elaborate and perhaps are symbolically significant then the “Jesuit finger rings,”
have only been found so far on eighteenth century sites, which were not documented
in the Jesuit Relations. Do these findings reflect the presence of the older generation
trying to “keep the faith”? Or were the religious medals mere trade objects with a kind
of “magical” prowess ascribed to their engraved images and foreign prayers?
Where archaeology is concerned, it may be useful to conduct metallurgical
tests on the medals, similar to what Carol Mason has already conducted on a sampling
of Jesuit-style finger rings. Learning more about how the medals were manufactured
and how they came to be on Seneca land would be especially useful in putting to rest
questions about the medals’ religiosity, and why they have been located consistently at
sites dated to after the missions closed.
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