NATIVE AMERICANS LIKED THEIR BLING. At the Kincaid Mounds settlement in Southern Illinois, they used so much galena (a glittery, silver-colored lead sulfide) that they left the nearby water resources polluted with lead. It’s estimated that from 1150-1450 CE, they used more than 3000 pounds of the ground-up material as paint for objects and personal adornment.
Since the isotopic signature of the lead indicates that the galena came from SE and Central Missouri, we’re also learning new insights on trading networks of the people who lived along the major river valleys like the Ohio.