>I'd think that rivets would be like screws, nails, and such - simply 
>generic hardware. Dating would tend to be more deriving rivet dates 
>from the site rather than deriving a site date from the rivets. 
>Given an adequate historical database, it may be possible to trace 
>the rivets to an area of origin and a gross date based on 
>intentional alloy components and the trace elements inherent in 
>those components. Such a database would have to be quite extensive, 
>however. I rather doubt that a simple star on the head of one rivet 
>would be of any help. I've not tried, but I suspect that a diligent 
>internet research would reveal modern sources for rivets so 
>decorated. I hate to be a wet blanket, John, but realistically some 
>questions, while potentially answerable, are simply not worth the 
>time and effort of answering. At best, an assay of the materials 
>involved may narrow your rivet dates down to either the period of 
>the mission/barracks, or the saw-mill. A detailed analysis of their 
>construction technology may help. However, if they were hand-made 
>that may be more an indicator of the isolation of your site, 
>particularly during the mission/cavalry phase. Your problem is 
>further complicated, if the rivets were unused, by the extremely 
>long "shelf life" of items like rivets. Identification, beyond the 
>stage of identifying them as used/unused rivets, would present a 
>totally different set of problems.
>________________________________
>From: John Worth <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Sent: Sat, June 4, 2011 7:46:25 AM
>Subject: Copper alloy rivets
>
>Dear all,
>I'd appreciate some help dating and identifying some copper-alloy rivets we
>have found on an 18th-century Florida mission site (Mission San Joseph de
>Escambe, c1741-1761) which also has a nearby late 19th-century sawmill
>(c1866-1884) which could also be associated with these items. Perhaps a
>dozen sets of these rivets and washers were found in the upper level of a
>single 1x1m unit at this pristine, unplowed site, in the immediate vicinity
>of a large post-on-sill wall trench structure we have tentatively identified
>as the Spanish cavalry barracks built in 1760 (the site was garrisoned for a
>little over a year and a half; project blog linked below for additional
>context about the site).
>
>Here is the link to the photos on Flickr:
>http://www.flickr.com/photos/pensacolacolonialfrontiers/
>
>The shafts of the rivets are smooth, and the heads are plain except for one
>with a raised star, shown in one of the pictures.
>
>Thanks,
>John Worth
>
>--
>John E. Worth, Ph.D.
>Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology
>University of West Florida, 11000 University Parkway, Pensacola, FL 32514
>Phone: (850) 857-6204 Fax: (850) 857-6278
>Email: [log in to unmask]
>Home Page: http://www.uwf.edu/jworth
>Graduate Advising Resource Page:
>http://www.uwf.edu/jworth/teaching.htm#Advisement
>2011 Field School Blog: http://pensacolacolonialfrontiers.blogspot.com/