With interest, I read the article "Is wampum proof of deal?" Jan. 1.
I can only provide my professional opinion as to the so-called Tawagonshi Treaty, allegedly written in 1613 by the Dutch traders Jacob Eelckens and Hendrick Christiaenssen. Together with my colleagues Jan Noordegraaf, Free University, Amsterdam, and Harrie Hermkens, retired from Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Tilburg, I have studied the text of the treaty. We have come to the conclusion that this text cannot have been written in 1613 because it contains more than 40 anachronisms: Word forms, word combinations or word meanings that were not in use in the early 17th century.
There is linguistic evidence that indicates the text of the treaty was written in the 20th century. We hope to publish our findings in the Journal of Early American History. Our conclusion that the Tawagonshi Treaty is a fake confirms the claim made by Charles Gehring, William Starna and William Fenton in 1987.
Nicoline van der Sijs
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Senior researcher at the Meertens Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands