False Wampum (glass, in white and black); tin cones; red dyed hair; coarse linen lining/backing; coarse blue stroud; worsted ribbon; hemp twine, single ply (red dyed).

Single panel of wampum backed (?) by blue stroud (mostly moth eaten), Linen back with wampum shoulder strap attached. Wampum is woven using a double weft method not usual for this period (DP). Worsted ribbon (?) binding/reinforcing top edge of back of bag. Woven with hemp twine; on the bag, the weft is red and the warp is natural colored.

Bag has edging of tin cones with red dyed hair on bottom and along top of pouch. The central panel has a row of 4 elongated hexagons at the bottom; next a row of 4 upward triangles (like mountains). These two rows are separated by a single line. Above the row of triangles are a row of 7 checkerboarded diamonds. Above that there is a band surrounded by two single rows enclosing a series of 8 sets of parallel lines. The strap has a large checkerboard diamond at the center top; on either side of this are two parallel diagonal lines with zigzag steps connecting them within, making four in total. These are arranged in mirror symetry.

AC wonders if the strap was originally a belt. AGG notes that the bag looks shinier than the strap, strengthening AC''s theory. DP notes some consistent design features that suggests that the two parts are probably meant to go together. AC notes that the lozenges represent council fires and the triangles are mountains. We''re not sure if the row of cones on the top edge were originally hanging down over the top motif or not. AC mentions that 7 is significant: 7 grandfathers; 7 stars; the slanted/diagonal lines indication "the road"; 8 may represent the 4 lower and 4 upper worlds.

Cory Willmott, Alan Corbiere, Adrianna Grecci Green and David Penney conducted research on site at the Peabody Museum for Archaeology and Ethnology in July 2007 with help from Susan Haskell and Patricia Capone of the PMAE. Cory Willmott's research was funded by a grant from the American Philosophical Society. Al Corbiere was supported through Ruth Phillips's SSHRC Canada Research Chair Funding. An internal grant from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provided Cory with an RA, Ceara Horsley, for 2009 and 2010 to work on GRASAC data entry. (CW & CH)