Chinese Red Vermillion in Montana

Red Vermillion

As seen above, the artifacts are brown paper packets containing vermillion. These packets have Chinese characters on the top, possibly describing the contents or the point of origin. These were obtained by Blackfoot Nation, which was located in present-day Montana, through traders, according to the provided description of the artifacts. These packets are dated ca. 1880.

The Blackfoot Nation, in particular, used the vermillion in tribal rituals and ceremonies as a primary component of face paint. This tell us that all types of materials, either foreign or native, were used in rituals. The amount of trading that was required for these packets so that the vermillion was very important for the ceremonies, since other substances like clay possibly could have been used.

Ultimately, this broadens the narrative of the Native Americans, because it shows that they had a much larger global outreach than people usually believe. This is the case, because it is usually thought that the Native Americans exclusively communicated and traded with Europeans. This could have huge implicative for understanding how these people developed and adapted due to communication with Asian countries. Also, it is thought that many native nations kept to themselves other then when they traded with Europeans and Americans. This shows that they really were much more far-reaching in their attempts to understand the outside world, than we really give them credit for.

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