During the Archaic period, people in Ohio first began to fashion ornaments from exotic materials. The copper for these beads may have been acquired through trade with people in the Lake Superior region of southern Canada where the copper naturally occurs. It also is possible that chunks of Canadian copper had been dragged into Ohio by the glaciers and the Archaic people had found nuggets in the local stream gravels. Regardless, the Archaic artisans recognized copper as an unusual material with special properties. People who wore this jewelry likely were displaying their high status.

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See below.