Copper Bracelet

While on a July 1st tent camping trip up Lac Seul I decided to take a stroll down the eroded clay shoreline of a known archaeological site.  I was walking along and looking around when I spotted what appeared to be a thin piece of metal wire laying on the ground.  However, after bending over to grasp and pick up the item, I realized that I had only seen a small edge section of a much larger object which lay embedded beneath the surface. 

What emerged from the ground was a wide but very thin strip of copper rounded into the shape of an arm band or bracelet (3-d model courtesy of Lakehead University anthropology department) .  Two bands of long, thin striations adorn the entire exterior surface of the copper item.  One band contains a grouping of three lines while the other contains a grouping of two lines.  The edges of the copper bracelet have also been embellished with designs created by cutting notches into the metal.  One side has rounded notches to create a wavy pattern while the other side has narrow, thin notches cut into the surface to create a squared surface similar to that of a dentate stamp tool.  Although pre-contact indigenous cultures are known to have manufactured tools from pure copper sources as early as 8000 years ago, it is likely that this artifact was created through the repurposing of a copper kettle traded into the Lac Seul region during the Fur Trade area in the mid to late 1700s or early 1800s.