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E-book The Elemental Analysis of Glass Beads : Technology, Chronology and Exchange

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Penilaian

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Glass bead studies, using increasingly sophisticated methods, have become important in examining archaeological questions related to technology, chronology, and exchange in the ancient world. In this introductory chapter, the goal is to provide a context for the case studies presented in this volume, within the broader field of glass bead studies. For that purpose, we briefly review the history of glass bead studies: early glass bead researchers made important discoveries just by looking at the physical attributes of beads and the traces left by their manufacturing. Also, parallels made with ethnographic observations have been key to understanding the ancient technologies developed for glass bead making. We will then discuss different techniques that are applied to the investigation of glass beads, because using multiple scientific compositional and material analysis methods can provide converging evidence to validate hypotheses about manufacturing and circulation. Finally, we will present a few key discoveries related to glass beads found in regions not covered in this volume. These reinforce the importance of these small artifacts for a better understanding of ancient societies. The first bead scholars were “amateurs” with a non-academic background, only motivated by their fascination with the objects. We can consider that the study of beads started with Horace Beck (1928) and his Classification and Nomenclature of Beads and Pendants published almost a century ago. This important work sought to provide a precise vocabulary for the description of beads and a nomenclature for their typology. Beck, a retired designer of microscope lenses, used a microscope for the observation of beads, showing the path for a scientific approach to bead studies (Hutchinson 2003). All kinds of materials (glasses, stones, and metals) were considered in Beck’s 1928 volume but his geographical interest was mostly limited to artifacts from regions around the Mediterranean area and the Middle-East. Several researchers followed in the footsteps of these two pioneers and refined regional bead typologies. Relevant to this present volume is the work by Kidd and Kidd (1970, 1983) who devised a classification system for European glass beads traded in the Americas. This classification, which is based on the forming techniques of the beads, their shapes, colors and decorations, was augmented by Karklins (2012) and is widely used in countries including Europe, of course, but also Africa, where relatively recent European-made beads can be found (e.g., DeCorse 1989; Hopewood 2009; Karklins and Bonneau 2019). In South Africa, Wood (2011) introduced the notion of bead series or groups of beads that share some physical attributes and that can be associated to a specific time period and sometimes, a place of origin. Wood’s system has been widely adopted in this region (e.g., Bandama et al. 2018; Tournié et al. 2012; Antonites 2014; Koleini et al. 2017). Robust glass bead classification strategies developed for specific regions and time periods are essential to place new findings in a chronological context and to accurately infer the circulation of objects between regions as further exemplified by Calmer (1977), Guido (1978) and Then-Ob?uska (2021).

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Ketersediaan

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

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No. Panggil

930.1 DUS t

Penerbit

Belgium : Leuven University Press., 2022

Deskripsi Fisik

393 hlm

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

9789461664655

Klasifikasi

930.1

Tipe Isi

text

Tipe Media

computer

Tipe Pembawa

online resource

Edisi

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Subjek

Archaeology

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

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Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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