archaeological and textual records - eCommons@Cornell - Cornell ...
archaeological and textual records - eCommons@Cornell - Cornell ...
archaeological and textual records - eCommons@Cornell - Cornell ...
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ABSTRACT<br />
This thesis focuses on Jesuit missions to the Seneca Iroquois, which spanned from<br />
1668-1709. Using museum collections of <strong>archaeological</strong> artifacts <strong>and</strong> historical<br />
sources, the goal of my research is threefold: to update the data on Christian-themed<br />
artifacts found at Seneca sites, to develop a more cohesive portrait of Iroquoian<br />
spirituality, <strong>and</strong> to examine whether the material <strong>and</strong> historical <strong>records</strong> present a case<br />
for religious syncretism. My updated enumeration of Jesuit-style finger rings takes<br />
into consideration current excavations, <strong>and</strong> has more than doubled since Alice Wood’s<br />
1974 study. By contrast, the religious medals, crosses <strong>and</strong> crucifixes found on Seneca<br />
territory have never been analyzed until now. Research on the religious medals was<br />
aided by the Clark Manuscript, compiled from 1894-1902 by General John S. Clark<br />
(1823-1912). Overall, my research decisively concludes that Christian-themed<br />
artifacts occur both within <strong>and</strong> outside of the Jesuit missionary period.