Brass Thimble (FOUS 573) - Public Domain image, National Parks Gallery

Although Euro-American women typically used brass thimbles like this one to protect their fingertips while sewing, American Indians acquired them for another, unrelated purpose, as a decorative element for clothing. The hole punctured in the top of this thimble suggest it could have been tied to a shirt or dress with sinew string. Called a tinkler, this thimble would have replaced the animal claws or small hooves that tribes traditionally attached to garments to produce a tinkling sound when they jostled together as people walked or danced.