Lead has been sourced for many areas such as the Upper Mississippi Valley and Missouri areas to help determine prehistoric trade networks.  The lead is sourced using isotopes.  For examples see:
 
Farquar, R.M., and I.R. Fletcher
1980   Lead Isotope Identification of Sources of Galena from Some Prehistoric Indian Sites in Ontario, Canada. Science 207:640-643.
 
Millen, T.M., R.E. Zartman, and A.V. Heyl
1995   Lead Isotopes from the Upper Mississippi Valley District- A Regional Perspective.  U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2094-B. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
 
Walthall, John A.
1981   Galena and Aboriginal Trade in Eastern North America.  Scientific Papers Vol 17. Illinois State Museum, Springfield.
 
Walthall, John A., Stephen H. Stow, and Marvin J. Karson
1979   Ohio Hopewell Trade: Galena Procurement and Exchange.  In Hopewell Archaeology: The Chillicothe Conference, edited by David S. Brose and N. Gerber, pp. 247-250.  Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio.
 
1980  Copena Galena: Source Identification and Analysis.  American Antiquity 45:21-42.
 
 
Lead was mined by Native Americans as early as the Early Archaic.  Many of the lead sources "found" by fur traders were probably known and used by Native Americans.
 
Donna Stubbs
Archaeologist
ACR Consultants, Inc.
 
 
<<Smoke wrote:>>
I have often been asked about where the lead came from for the fur
trade and if it could be differentiated by source.  The large majority
came from the lead mines of Missouri near St. Louis. Here are a few
urls (and now I don't have to type this stuff up myself).

:-)

http://www.carrollscorner.net/SitesWashCo_Potosi01.htm

http://www.carrollscorner.net/SitesWashCo_OldMines01.htm

http://www.rootsweb.com/~moomahs/

Smoke

-- 
Smoke Pfeiffer
845 Cagle Rock Road
Russellville, Ar. 72802



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