Society of Bead Researchers Journal

Journal -- Beads

Beads 1 (1989)

Diakhité: A Study of the Beads from an 18th-19th-Century Burial Site in Senegal, West Africa, by Marie-José and Howard Opper

It is the intention of this paper to place the Diakhite beads into a historical and archaeological perspective, and by so doing examine a period in Senegambian history that roughly extends from the 18th century to around the middle of the 19th century. The beads serve as a focal point to describe the trade that brought them from Europe and elsewhere to Senegambia. They also help portray some aspects of the lives of a particular ethnic group which inhabited the Thies area during this period--the Serer Nones.

Beads of the Early Islamic Period, by Peter Francis, Jr.

Beads from four sites involved in Early Islamic trade (7th to 12th century) are representative of the role the Muslim world played in the Indian Ocean Bead Trade. The continuation of Classical techniques, the Islamic trade's self-sufficiency, and the insight beads provide concerning past behavior are some of the issues explored.

Beads as Chronological Indicators in West African Archaeology: A Reexamination, by Christopher DeCorse

Drawing primarily on data obtained from recent excavations at Elmina, Ghana, this report examines the potential use of beads as temporal markers in West African archaeology. It is argued that although beads from West-African contexts are difficult to date, they provide more information than has previously been suggested. The Elmina beads are of particular interest as they can be closely dated by associated European trade materials. Preliminary results from the analysis of the 30,000 European and locally-made glass beads are discussed and findings from other West-African sites are evaluated.

The Beads of St. Eustatius, Netherlands Antilles, by Karlis Karklins and Norman F. Barka

Archaeological excavations conducted on the Caribbean island of St. Eustatius over a seven-year period produced a wide array of 18th to early 20th-century beads of glass, coral and carnelian. Detailed descriptions of the recovered specimens are supplemented by information concerning their distribution, relative frequencies, color preference, temporal placement, origins, acquisition and use. Comparative site data are also provided.

Bohemian Glass Beadmaking: Translation and Discussion of a 1913 German Technical Article, by Lester A. Ross with Barbara Pflanz

This report provides an English translation of a German technical article on late 19th-century and early 20th-century Bohemian glass-bead manufacturing, published in 1913 in the journal Sprechsaal. The article emphasizes the description of techiques for the manufacture of mould-pressed beads, secondarily describing methods for wound, blown and drawn-bead manufacturing.

Beads 2 (1990)

Observations and Problems in Researching the Contemporary Glass-Bead Industry in Northern China, by Roderick Sprague

The status of glass-bead manufacturing in northern China is undergoing rapid change due to the development of the plastic-bead industry. Several manufacturing plants, including the large Beijing Glass Ware Factory, are no longer making beads and several other plants are contemplating changes. The variety of domestic glass beads available for purchase today would indicate a greater number of manufacturing sites than are mentioned in the popular literature.

Beadmaking in Islam: The African Trade and the Rise of Hebron, by Peter Francis, Jr.

This paper complements one which appeared in Volume 1 of this journal, as it also deals with beads in the Islamic world. However, the present work takes a somewhat different approach, being based primarily on historical sources. It also has a different geographical orientation, dealing with commerce between the Islamic world and the northern portion of Africa. Concentrating mostly on the period from the 12th to the 20th century, it documents the rise of a new beadmaking center at Hebron, in the West Bank. The name "Kano beads" has recently been assigned to one class of Hebron beads, and their history is an object lesson in the complexities of the bead trade.

Trade Beads from Hudson's Bay Company Fort Vancouver (1829-1860), Vancouver, Washington, by Lester A. Ross

Archaeological excavations conducted at Hudson's Bay Company Fort Vancouver recovered 100,000+ trade beads of 152 varieties, including 80 varieties of drawn, 57 varieties of wound, 10 varieties of mold-pressed and 3 varieties of blown glass beads, as well as one variety each of "Prosser-molded" ceramic and cut-stone beads. An additional 6000+ beads recovered from excavations at the HBC Kanaka village and riverside complex sites may included 39 additional varieties possibly associated with the HBC occupation: 17 varieties of drawn, 12 varieties of wound, and 5 varieties of mold-pressed glass beads, as well as one variety each of stone, bone, wood, metal, and shell beads. The bead assemblage has contributed to the initial definition of a complex temporal and cultural horizon marker dating from 1829 to 1860 for the Pacific Northwest, and provides insights into mid-19th-century Native-American and Euro-American bead preferences. Analysis of the assemblage demonstrates difficulties inherent in the existing archaeological bead classification system, and suggestions for revisions are discussed.

Dominique Bussolin on the Glass-Bead Industry of Murano and Venice (1847), by Karlis Karklins with Carol F. Adams

One of the earliest detailed descriptions of the Venetian bead industry is contained in an obscure book published in French in 1847 by the Venetian glassmaker Domenico Bussolin. Intended as a "Guide for the Foreigner, " this work contains much useful information concerning bead manufacturing techniques and the socioeconomic aspects of the industry. T o make this text generally available, a translation prepared by Karklins and Adams is provided here.

Perforated Prehistoric Ornaments of Curaçao and Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, by Jay B. Haviser

This paper describes some of the more distinctive characteristics of perforated prehistoric ornaments, primarily beads and pendants, found on the Caribbean islands of Curacao and Bonaire. The production and stylization of these ornaments is briefly compared between the islands, as well as with specimens recovered from sites on the South American mainland.

Beads 3 (1991)

The Mohawk Glass Trade Bead Chronology: ca. 1560-1785, by Donald A. Rumrill

Early glass beads acquired by the Mohawk Indians of New York state were a mixture of whatever was made available to them by European traders. By the second quarter of the 17th century, the beads reflected a dominance of particular types and/or colors as villages were relocated This phenomenon appears to have ritualistic connotations and suggests that the bead-selection process was a part of the ceremonialism practiced in the daily, seasonal and annual life modes of the Mohawk. Ten distinct periods have been identified based on an examination of approximately 10,000 glass beads recovered from 33 Mohawk village sites. Other datable artifacts, historic occurrences and documents are cited to bolster the validity of using glass trade beads as a primary tool in dating the Mohawk village relocations.

French Beadmaking: An Historic Perspective Emphasizing the 19th and 20th Centuries, by Marie-José and Howard Opper

Beadmaking in France began in pre-Roman times. It reached its zenith in the 19th and 20th centuries when beads of sundry materials and styles were produced in both artisanal workshops and large factories to decorate a multitude of items and to serve as components of fashion jewelry. This article discusses the different beadmakers and their varied products.

The Beads from Oudespost I, A Dutch East India Company Outpost, Cape, South Africa, by Karlis Karklins and Carmel Schrire

The site of a provisioning station operated by the Dutch East India Company near the Cape of Good Hope during the late 17th and early 18th centuries produced a variety of European beads of several materials. A "typical" Dutch bead assemblage of the period, it is significant because it comes from one of very few independently dated bead-producing sites in southern Africa and, as such, will be instrumental in the formulation of a chronology for the beads found in this part of Africa.

L'Impiraressa: The Venetian Bead Stringer, by Irene Ninni, translated by Lucy Segatti

In 1893, Irene Ninni published a succinct account of a large but little-known group of Venetian women called impiraresse or bead stringers whose task it was to thread the glass beads produced on Murano and form them into hanks for the world market. The original Italian text is provided, along with an English translation. Two late 19th-century paintings by John Singer Sargent provide a rare glimpse of the bead stringers at work.

Beads 4 (1992)

The Beads of Cameroon, by Pierre Harter, translated by Howard Opper

Glass beads have long played an important role in the art and culture of Cameroon, a country situated on the east side of the Gulf of Guinea in West Central Africa. This article reviews the different kinds of drawn and wound glass beads that have found broad acceptance in west-central Cameroon and discusses their diverse applications. Beads of other materials, as well as cowries and buttons, are also dealt with.

The Beads of Roman and Post-Medieval Antwerpen, Belgium, by Karlis Karklins and Tony Oost

Excavations conducted at several sites in Antwerpen, a principal city and seaport on the Schelde River in northern Belgium, have uncovered a small but significant collection of glass beads. These range from a decorated specimen of the Roman period to tubular square- and star-sectioned beads of the 16th-17th centuries. The Post-Medieval specimens, found in the cesspits of merchants' homes, give us an idea of what Antwerpen was exporting during the early part of this period.

Beads in the Lives of the Peoples of Southern Togo, West Africa, by Pascale Nourisson, translated by Pierre Nadon

Beads are objects of infinite diversity among the Mina-Guen of southern Togo. They accompany the people in all the material and spiritual aspects of their existence. However, while the beads serve such varied functions as ornaments, currency and emblems of wealth and prestige, they find their principal use in voodoo.

On the Date of the Copper Age in the United States, by A. Morlot

During the mid-19th century, some scholars believed that the chevron beads found in early Indian graves had been brought to North America by globe-trotting Phoenicians or representatives of some other higher European civilization. A paper on the subject published in 1862 by one of the theory's proponents is reproduced here, along with contemporary descriptions and illustrations of the beads under discussion.

Identifying Beads Used in the 19th-Century Central East Africa Trade, by Karlis Karklins

A wide variety of glass beads poured into Central East Africa during the second half of the 19th century as explorers, missionaries and others made their way into the uncharted interior. Each kind had a name and value that, much to the chagrin of the travelers and present-day researchers, varied from one region to another. This article synthesizes what historical documentation reveals about some of the more significant beads in the trade with an eye to identifying the actual beads that are represented.

Beads 5 (1993)

In Memoriam: Kenneth E. Kidd, 1906-1994, by Jamie Hunter and Karlis Karklins

Pioneer bead researcher Kenneth Earl Kidd passed away peacefully in Peterborough, Ontario, on 26 February 1994, at the age of 87. This memorial reviews his distinguished career and provides an extensive list of his publications.

Gold-Glass Beads: A Review of the Evidence, by Maud Spaer

The study of gold-glass beads was given a considerable boost in the 1970s by Weinberg's report on their manufacture in Hellenistic Rhodes and by Alekseeva's and Boon's studies on finds from southern Russia and Britain, respectively. Nothing comparable has been published in the intervening years, but scattered new information has appeared. This paper aims to survey and review the available data on manufacturing technique, style, provenience and chronology. An attempt is also made to fit gold-glass beads into the general framework of glass history. The main focus is on the finds of the Mediterranean and related regions in pre-Islamic times. Note is taken of the continuation of the use of gold-glass beads in Medieval Europe. Conclusions drawn are usually only tentative, if not hypothetical, as sufficiently well-documented source material is scarce.

The A Speo Method of Heat Rounding Drawn Glass Beads and its Archaeological Manifestations, by Karlis Karklins

From at least the early 17th century to the latter part of the 18th century, drawn glass beads over about 4 mm in diameter weregenerally rounded in European glasshouses using a method called a speo by the Italians who apparently invented it. The little-known process involved mounting a number of tube segments on the tines of a multi-pronged iron implement which was then inserted in a furnace and turned until the tubes were rounded to the desired degree. Beads produced in this manner often exhibit distinctive characteristics and are easily identified in archaeological collections.

Powdered-Glass Beads and Bead Trade in Mauritania, by Marie-José Opper and Howerd Opper

Artisans in Kiffa and several other towns in southern Mauritania have produced a unique kind of powdered-glass bead for several generations. Commonly called "Kiffa beads," they generally copy the designs and forms of ancient beads, as well as more recent European examples. This article discusses their history, manufacture and relevance in Mauritanian culture. While production of the beads recently ceased for a time, several women have again begun to make them though the new varieties are not as inspiring as their predecessors.

Lun Bawang Beads, by Heidi Munan

The Lun Bawang and related peoples of east Sarawak, west Sabah and Brunei have a long tradition of using beads for personal ornamentation and as value objects. They share in the general Borneo bead heritage, but follow their own tastes and fashions. Some Lun Bawang have started reproducing their favorite opaque beads from clay to sell as well as to wear on informal occasions. This new cottage industry brings a satisfactory income to the beadmakers, and helps to preserve their heirloom property.

Beads 6 (1994)

Beads from the African Burial Ground, New York City: A Preliminary Assessment, by Cheryl J. LaRoche

Excavation of the African Burial Ground in New York City yielded the skeletal remains of more than 400 individuals. This paper is a preliminary discussion of beads associated with seven of the burials. The in situ bead configurations of three of the interments are distinctive and appear to be indicative of cultural practices of Africans in 18th-century New York. The configurations include necklaces and possibly wristlets, as well as waistbands. The latter represent the first recorded instance of such use by Africans or African descendants in North America. These objects provide insight into the religious or ritual behavior of the people who utilized the burial ground.

European Beads from Spanish-Colonial Lamanai and Tipu, Belize, by Marvin T. Smith,Elizabeth Graham, and David M. Pendergast

Excavation of the contact-period components of the Maya sites of Lamanai and Tipu, in northern and west-central Belize, respectively, have yielded moderate collections of European glass and other beads. The archaeological data are augmented by ethnohistorical documentation regarding the length of Maya/Spanish interaction. Contexts do not provide unequivocal stratigraphic evidence of sequential bead importation, but known dates of bead varieties assist in refining both site chronology and the understanding of bead use. As the first Central American collections to be analyzed, the two assemblages offer an initial glimpse of one aspect of European impact on native material and non-material culture.

A Possible Beadmaker's Kit from North America's Lake Superior Copper District, by Susan R. Martin

Beads of copper are amongst the oldest and most widespread ornament forms known in North America. Native copper was an important material used by prehistoric Americans, and certainly the most important metal. It was collected, transported and traded over wide areas from as early as seven thousand years before present, and its for ornaments persisted until it was gradually replaced by European metals over the many years of the contact period. A recently discovered cache of copper beads, bead preforms, awls, a crescent knife and scraps of raw copper at site 20KE20 in northern Michigan offers insight into the process of copper-bead production in fifth century North America.

Toward a Social History of Beadmakers, by Peter Francis, Jr.

An understanding of beads requires an understanding of the people involved with them. This paper examines three historical aspects of people engaged in beadmaking, especially the production of glass beads. The history of their social relations is considered in regards to the record of their physical movements, the manner in which they organize themselves and pass on their traditions, and their status within society. Information concerning each of these is arranged geographically and chronologically in an attempt to discern the patterns of the social history of beadmakers.

Beads 7 (1995)

Prosperity, Reverence and Protection: An introduction to Asian Beadwork, by Valerie Hector

Fascinating and diverse beadworking traditions have flourished in Asia for more than 1000 years, with the preponderance of surviving specimens dating to the 19th and 20th centuries. Based on a lecture presented at the Third International Bead Conference in Washington, D.C., in 1995, this article introduces Asian beadwork as a fruitful topic of inquiry for bead specialists. Representative examples produced in the last millennium by various cultures in South Asia, mainland and island Southeast Asia and East Asia are shown and discussed. Although they certainly testify to the material wealth of their makers, in many cases these pieces also carry spiritual implications. As the study of Asian beadwork is still in its infancy, it is hoped that this article will inspire others to conduct further research on the subject.

Merovingian Beads on the Lower Rhine, by Frank Siegmund; translated by C.J. Bridger

This paper presents a classification for beads of the Merovingian period (ca. A.D. 450-750) in the Lower Rhine region of Germany. Strings of beads recovered from graves are ordered by a seriation (correspondence analysis) which results in an ethnic (Roman vs. Frankish) and chronological structuring of the material. By comparing this with the chronological scheme established for the other archaeological finds, it becomes evident that the favored types of beads changed about every two generations. Besides changes in distinctive types, a development in general color preference is also observed.

Social Status Gradations Expressed in the Beadwork Patterns of Sarawak's Orang Ulu, by Heidi Munan

The peoples of Central Borneo, known collectively as the Orang Ulu, used to display social stratification by restricting the types of ornaments an individual might use and wear. "High-ranking" motifs were the human figure, the hornbill, and the tiger or leopard. The Orang Ulu are bead connoisseurs who incorporated seed beadwork in their costume and belongings; a person could only make use of beaded items proper to his or her social stratum. Religious and social changes have democratized these once strictly aristocratic societies and their handicrafts. Today's beadworker produces not only for her own family but for the souvenir market, so she feels free to apply any designs which please the buyer.

The Beads of Tenth- to Twelfth-Century Hungary, by Katalin Szilágyi; translated by Don Haines

An examination of the beads recovered from three Hungarian cemeteries in use during the 10th-12th centuries resulted in the identification of 61 distinct bead types. Seven of these were found to be significant on the basis of frequency analysis, and represent the beads most used by the local population. The study is enhanced by comparative material from a number of other contemporary archaeological sites in and around the country. The classification system developed for this study is applicable to other geographical areas and time periods, and may be expanded or otherwise modified to suit the needs of other researchers.

Beads 8-9 (1996-1997)

Beads Among the Juang of India, by Alok Kumar Kanungo

The Juang comprise a major primitive community in the state of Orissa in east-central India. Until relatively recently, they had a rich material culture. In particular, their dress and ornaments were very important to them. Today, only very old women wear beads and other ornaments in the traditional way, except on special occasions. This paper seeks to reconstruct the traditional costume of the Juang, with emphasis on the beads, and notes the changes it has undergone over the past 130 years. The findings are based on a survey of the ethnohistoric literature combined with active participant fieldwork in 1995 and 1997, among the Juang of the Keonjhar District in general and of Gonasika village in particular.

Akyem Te: The Technology and Socio-Cultural Setting of the Abompe Bauxite-Beadmaking Industry, Ghana, by Yaw Bredwa-Mensah

Drawing primarily on data obtained from recent research at Akyem Abompe, Ghana, this paper examines the technology and socio-cultural setting of a stone-beadmaking industry in the forest zone of Ghana. Preliminary ethnographic observation of the industry not only reveals that it is community-based, but that it also interacts in a complex way with other local crafts in the village. The production process and marketing of the beads are discussed, as is the antiquity of the industry.

Imitation Pearls in France, by Marie-José Opper and Howard Opper

To achieve the perfect imitation pearl has been the goal of numerous European beadmakers for over 700 years. In France, the art of making false-pearls spread rapidly after Jacquin discovered how to fill hollow glass beads with a pearl-like substance in the 17th century. Since that time, many diverse recipes have been tried and used to satisfy the French public's enormous appetite for affordable, yet elegant, imitations of fine pearls. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, these types of beads became even more popular than before, as they emerged as the principal components of costume jewelry worn by celebrated stage personalities.

A Hoard of Stone Beads near Lake Chad, Nigeria, by Graham Connah

In 1980, a small pot containing 622 carnelian and quartz beads was found accidentally at Ala, in the Nigerian part of the clay plain south of Lake Chad. It appears to constitute a hoard of wealth which its owner buried and subsequently failed to retrieve. Beads of this sort first appear in this area in the second half of the first millennium A.D., but also occur in second-millennium deposits. However, they are usually found as grave goods, and the Ala discovery is almost the only example of a hoard of such beads known to the author. Their presence on the stoneless Chadian plain indicates the development of trading contacts with other areas, but neither the source of the raw materials nor the place of manufacture of the beads is known. The quartz could have come from the Cameroon Mountains but the origin of the carnelian, often assumed to be from India, remains problematic. More attention needs to be paid to the possibility of West African sources and production, but there is also an urgent necessity both to compile a corpus of firmly dated material and to conduct characterization studies that could throw more light on the origin of the carnelian.

Beads, Pendants and Buttons from Early Historic Creek Contexts at the Tarver Sites, Georgia, by Thomas J. Pluckhahn

Recent excavations conducted on historic Creek Indian components at the Tarver (9JO6) and Little Tarver (9JO198) sites in central Georgia produced an extensive collection of European trade material, including a large sample of glass and lapidary beads, pendants and buttons. The bead collection is significant for its size, as well as the fact that virtually all of the material was recovered from undisturbed and tightly dated burial contexts attributable to the relatively brief period between about 1695 and 1715.

Beads 10-11 (1998-1999)

Dressed to Kill: Jade Beads and Pendants in the Maya Lowlands, by David M. Pendergast

Jade was a material of paramount importance in ancient Maya life owing to its symbolic significance. The meanings of jade's color lent to the stone, and to those adorned with objects fashioned from it, an unmistakable aura of power. As a result, jade objects figure very prominently in the archaeological record, and their forms and contexts bespeak their ancient meanings. The tracing of the shapes, carving, production techniques, and use history of jades underscores the role of jade in Maya belief, political economy, and personal ornamentation.

Stone Beads and their Imitations, by Robert K. Liu

Simulations of precious-stone beads began to be made as soon as feasible materials became available. From antiquity onward, we have replicas of stone beads made of glazed stone, faience, and other ceramics, and glass. In contemporary times, glass and plastic have become the predominate substitutes for stone beads, although materials of organic origin, such as bone and tusk, have also been used. Information is presented on the background, materials, and techniques for detecting such simulations, using primarily visual clues provided by macro color photographs.

Melanau Bead Culture: A Vanishing World?, by Heidi Munan

Settled on the South China Sea coast of Sarawak, the Melanau comprise an aristocratic society which used to have a strong bead culture, tied to animist religion. Developments in the 19th and 20th centuries have influenced the traditional way of life so that today, only a few Melanau still keep a significant number of beads. Nevertheless, shamen and healers, adherents to the old religion, continue to use beads in healing and purification ceremonies. Bereaved families protect themselves by wearing special beads, and by providing the deceased with beads according to his or her status in the traditional hierarchy. Specific kinds of beads are also prominent in traditional marriage ceremonies. Beads continue to adorn blouses and to serve as personal ornaments. Handicrafts embellished with glass seed beads are also produced, but mostly for the souvenir market.

A History of Gem Beadmaking in Idar-Oberstein, by Si Frazier, Ann Frazier, and Glenn Lehrer

Located at the southwestern edge of Germany, Idar-Oberstein is the historic stone-cutting center of Europe. The origins of the industry go back at least 500 years. The industry was originally based on local deposits of agate, jasper, rock crystal, and amethyst but beginning in the 19th century, all kinds of rough gemstones began to be imported from around the world. The industry grew very rapidly from the middle of the 19th century. A great deal of this success was based on the manufacture of agate beads ("African money") for export to Africa and the Middle East. This article not only discusses the history of the industry, but also provides in-depth information concerning the techniques and tools used in beadmaking and drilling.

A Brief History of Drills and Drilling, by A. John Gwinnett and Leonard Gorelick

A microscopic examination of silicone impressions of the perforations of beads, sealstones, and amulets has produced a data base of characteristics that help to define what type of drill was used to make them. This article outlines the various types of drills that have been used from the Palaeolithic period to the present day, and notes what microscopic features characterize each one. Scanning electron micrographs illustrate the minute details that are revealed by the silicone impressions.

Venetian Beads, by Frank Hird

Interesting accounts of the manufacture of Venetian glass beads turn up in the most unlikely places. The one reproduced here was published in The Girl's Own Paper for February 1, 1896 (Vol. 17, No. 840, pp. 292-294). In addition to presenting a decent description of the manufacture of drawn and blown beads during the latter part of the 19th century, Mr. Hird gives us details concerning the setting in which the beadmakers and bead stringers worked. Paint peels from the ceilings of the rooms where women make blown beads, and half-dressed men sweat in the heat from the glass furnaces. It brings the scene to life, something most other accounts fail to do. As the photographs that illustrate Hind's article lack captions, these have been added by the editor.

Progress and Problems in Recent Trade Bead Research, by Richard G. Conn

Thirty years have passed since the late Richard G. Conn presented this paper at the conference of the Canadian Archaeological Association in Winnipeg, March 8-9, 1968. It is presented here to show us how far we have come and how far we still have to go.

Beads 12-13 (2000-2001)

Annamese Orders: Precious Metal, Tassels, and Beads, by John Sylvester, Jr.

Over the centuries, beads have been used for myriad purposes but a seemingly unique application is their use as components of several types of Annamese orders. Now known as Vietnam, the State of Annam issued a number of civil awards during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Four of these—khahn, boi, tien, and bai—were made of precious materials and incorporated bead strands and tassels in their composition. The khanh was reinstated as the second-ranking civil order of the Republic of Vietnam in 1957.

Stone Beads and Sealstones from the Mycenaean Tholos Tomb at Nichoria, Greece, by Nancy C. Wilkie

Stone beads and engraved sealstones are among the most common grave goods that accompany Mycenaean burials. At Nichoria in the southwestern Peloponnese of Greece, a tholos tomb, presumably the burial place of the local elite at the site, had been plundered more than once in antiquity before being investigated by archaeologists. Nonetheless, it produced numerous stone beads of rock crystal, amethyst, carnelian, agate, and "steatite." Eleven sealstones, most of which were heirlooms when placed in the tomb, were also found among the disturbed burial offerings.

Identifying Sources of Prehistoric Turquoise in North America: Problems and Implications for Interpreting Social Organization, by Frances Joan Mathien

Well-made turquoise beads are rare in North American archaeological sites, and the prehistoric sources of turquoise are limited. Mining the turquoise, manufacturing the bead, and using it as part of a bracelet or necklace involve numerous human interactions to transport the raw material from its source to the place where it is finally found in an archaeological context. Accurate identification of turquoise sources affects our interpretation of prehistoric behavior and is the focus of this paper.

Man-in-the-Moon Beads, by Michele Lorenzini and Karlis Karklins

The unique and memorable design of man-in-the-moon beads has intrigued researchers over the years. These distinctive beads were identified in the 1960s by George Quimby as being chronologically diagnostic of Middle Historic Period sites (1670-1760) in the western Great Lakes region. The present study more clearly defines both the temporal and geographical instances of man-in-the-moon beads while taking into account possible cultural and historical implications. This project has led to the compilation of information regarding many specimens previously unknown to most researchers.

The Stone Bead Industry of Southern India, by Peter Francis, Jr.

Although previously unrecognized, South India was once home to a major stone-beadmaking industry. At its zenith in the early centuries A.D., it exported beads eastward to other parts of Asia and westward to the Roman Empire. South Indian gems were of such importance to the Roman West that the region deserves the title of “Treasure Chest of the Ancient World.” Research has identified the probable sources of nearly all the raw materials used, the lapidary centers, and the trade routes over which the finished beads would have traveled. Additionally, it has revealed that the principal participants in the industry were the Pandukal people, opening a new chapter on the widening understanding of this community.

The Krobo and Bodom, by Kirk Stanfield

Certain relatively large beads, almost always found in Ghana, have come to be called "bodom" by bead traders, collectors, and researchers. Most students of this bead believe it is the product of the Krobo powder-glass industry proliferating today in southeastern Ghana. Upon closer inspection, however, there appear to be two distinct groups of bodom that we may, for convenience, call "old" and "new." While the new bodom are definitely made in Ghana today, using techniques that have been observed and documented, the old bodom are substantially different in enough ways to suggest that they were made elsewhere by other methods. This study examines the origins and methods of manufacture of bodom and tests the hypothesis that the Krobo made old bodom.

Beads 14 (2002)

In Memoriam: Peter Francis, Jr., 1945-2002, by Karlis Karklins

The bead research community lost a principal member when Peter Francis, Jr., director of the Center for Bead Research in Lake Placid, New York, died December 8, 2002, while on a research trip to Ghana, West Africa. Pete was widely known and respected, and was responsible for significantly increasing people’s awareness – on a worldwide scale – of beads and their place in human culture through his many publications, lectures, workshops, symposia, and internet website. He leaves a void that will be very hard, if not impossible, to fill.

Beadwork of Hungary and Transylvania, by Robin Atkins

Beading is a cultural necessity in some rural villages of Hungary and Transylvania, where peasants have used embroidery and beads to lavishly embellish their costumes for hundreds of years. Remaining little changed over several centuries and almost oblivious to beads and beadwork in the rest of the world, the peasants of these villages have slowly evolved their own style of beadwork from thread embroidery and other embellishing methods. Based on field research, this article explores the cultural traditions, rich designs, and techniques of beadwork in four Hungarian villages -- three in Transylvania (Romania) and one in southern Hungary.

A Brief Biography of Giovanni Giacomuzzi: Artist and Glassmaker, by Vincenzo Zanetti; translated by Lucy Segatti

Giovanni Giacomuzzi (1817-1872) was the driving force behind the celebrated 19th-century Venetian beadmaking and glassworking firm of Fratelli Giacomuzzi fu Angelo, one of whose bead sample books is described in the accompanying report. This tribute by a learned contemporary summarizes Giacomuzzi's accomplishments and sheds light on the life of a much-honored master glassworker.

The Giacomuzzi Bead Sample Book and Folders, by Karlis Karklins

The sample book described herein displays the wound glass beads produced during the third quarter of the 19th century by an acclaimed Venetian firm, that of the Giacomuzzi brothers. The book vividly shows what sorts of beads were being marketed by a single firm at this time, and provides much useful information concerning bead sizing systems. Although not marked with the producers name, the folders that accompany the book are of like date and at least one is likely a product of the Giacomuzzis.

Late Neolithic Amber Beads and Pendants from the Lake Lubans Wetlands, Latvia, by Ilze Biruta Loze

In Late Neolithic Europe, amber beads and pendants were initially mainly made in the coastal zone of the Baltic Sea, due to the presence of amber washed up by the Litorina Sea. There were four principal localized zones of Neolithic amber artifacts in this region: the eastern Baltic, the mouth of the Vistula River, Jutland and Skone, and Fennoscandinavia. The British Isles are regarded as a fifth zone. As the popular-scientific literature has so far provided scant information on the amber-working zone of the eastern Baltic, this article summarizes the findings revealed by extensive archaeological research, particularly during the past forty years.

Beads 15 (2003)

Two Centuries of Iroquois Beadwork, by Dolores N. Elliott

To the 16th-century Iroquois living in what is now central New York state, European glass trade beads were something special; they were believed to have had magical and spiritual meaning. To this day, the Iroquois have a special relationship with glass beads. Iroquois artists began creating three-dimensional beaded items in the late 18th century. The first beaded pincushions and wall pockets were small, but they increased in size and quantity during the 19th century. Two centers of beadwork making arose: one around Niagara Falls in western New York and southern Ontario, and the other around Montreal in southern Quebec and the adjoining parts of eastern Ontario and northern New York. By the end of the 19th century, large brightly colored pincushions, wall hangings, purses, and other items were made for an active tourist market. Recently these art forms have become highly collectable by individuals and museums. Over 60 forms of beadwork were developed. As in the 19th and 20th centuries, many Haudenosaunee artists continue to create colorful beadwork in the 21st century.

Beads in the Straits Settlements: Trade and Domestic Demand, 1827-1937, by Hwei-Fe’n Cheah

Beads have long been a part of the exchange of goods in Southeast Asia. Indo-Pacific beads were traded in Southeast Asia and colored beads from China were exchanged for spices and forest products from the Indonesian archipelago. The Straits Settlements, comprising the ports of Singapore, Malacca, and Penang, was formed in 1826, to consolidate the trading position of the British in Southeast Asia. Singapore, in particular, developed into a major entrepot of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Research by the late Peter Francis, Jr., drew attention to its role as a channel for a part of the Southeast Asian bead trade. This article extends his research by plumbing the rich statistical records of the Straits Settlements to examine the changing role of the Straits Settlements from a bead emporium to a consumer of beads, with Singapore acting as a distribution center for a growing domestic demand for beads.

Bohemian Faceted-Spheroidal Mold-Pressed Glass Bead Attributes: Hypothesized Terminus Post Quem Dates for the 19th Century, by Lester A. Ross

Faceted-spheroidal mold-pressed beads have been manufactured in Bohemia since the 18th century. Evolution of manufacturing technology has resulted in the creation of bead attributes that can readily be observed on beads from archaeological contexts. Many North American archaeological sites contain examples of this bead type; but few reports have identified the attributes, much less recognized these beads as mold-pressed. Enough evidence now exists to suggest that some of these attributes have temporal significance for dating archaeological bead assemblages. Terminus post quem dates for faceted-spheroidal mold-pressed bead attributes are hypothesized, and a strategy for future research is suggested so that a more precise temporal sequence can be constructed.

Birds, Beasts, and Botanicals: Organic Beads and Pendants from the Amazon Basin, by Deborah G. Harding

The people of the Amazon Basin have an incredible array of organic materials available to them, which they use to make beads and pendants. The Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has extensive recent collections from the Amazon Basin, with hundreds of necklaces, belts, aprons, and ear and arm ornaments which contain beads made from organic materials. These collections are used to illustrate a variety of the beads and their materials.

Early Upper Paleolithic Ornaments from Üçağizli Cave, Turkey, by Mary C. Stiner and Steven L. Kuhn

Beads and similar ornaments appear early in the archaeological record associated with modem humans (Homo sapiens), first in Africa and somewhat later in Eurasia. They are thought to be among the first indicators of human use of symbols. This paper discusses criteria used to distinguish early mollusk-shell beads from other kinds of shells in archaeological deposits, focusing on evidence from the site of Üçağizli Cave in Turkey. Upper Paleolithic beadmakers at this and other sites clearly preferred certain forms of shell for ornamental purposes, although the reasons for that selectivity remain obscure.

Beads 16 (2004)

Precious Red Coral: Markets and Meanings by Susan J. Torntore

Beads and other ornamental items made of precious red coral have been utilized by various cultures worldwide for thousands of years. Depending on its properties and market context, this highly valued material has meant different things to different peoples through time. The current industry—based in Torre del Greco in southern Italy—reflects past traditions but also incorporates new ideas into the production of beads and jewelry for the three principal world markets: fashion, ethnic, and tourist. These reflect the historic trade and use of red coral beads in several West African, European, and American cultural settings. This article describes the Torrese coral industry, revealing how the different beads are manufactured and marketed, and also delves into the cultural significance of precious coral over time.

Bead Making at Murano and Venice, by B. Harvey Carroll, Jr. with Jamey D. Allen

"Bead Making at Murano and Venice," by B. Harvey Carroll, Jr., is a rare eyewitness account of beadmaking in and around Venice, Italy, towards the end of the First World War and documents the technology of the time as well as what impact the war had on the industry. Carroll’s report takes us through the various steps in the production of drawn or tube beads and also provides a historical perspective of the industry. Although the report presents much useful information, we now know much more about most aspects of glass beadmaking and endnotes provide much additional information and clarification.

The Levin Catalogue of Mid-19th-Century Beads, by Karlis Karklins

The Levin Catalogue is composed of two similar collections of glass and stone beads assembled by Moses Lewin Levin, a London bead merchant whose business operated from 1830 to 1913. A total of 621 beads of 128 different varieties makes up the collections which can be dated to the period 1851-1869. Although the beads are recorded as having been used in the African trade, several have counterparts at North American sites, thereby making the catalogue a potentially valuable research tool for those involved in the study of North American trade beads as well.

Incised Dentalium Shell Beads in the Plateau Culture Area, by Roderick Sprague

Whole dentalium and segments of dentalium shell have been used as beads in the Northwest Coast and interior Plateau culture areas both prehistorically and ethnographically. Incised whole shells, and no more than five known examples of incised segments, have been recovered from the Plateau, limited to archaeological contexts. A review of the reported incising clearly shows the use of design elements typical of the Plateau Culture Area as often also used on bone, antler, wood, and historic copper in addition to dentalium. The Asotin site (45-AS-9), one of the few well-dated Plateau burial sites with incised beads indicates that this phenomena has a broad and, as yet, poorly defined chronological occurrence, largely from the protohistoric to the early historic.

Beads 17 (2005)

Necklaces Used in the Santería of Cuba, by Lourdes S. Domínguez; translated by Jayson Rubio

This article examines the necklaces used in the Afro-Cuban Rule of Orisha, more commonly known as Santería. This religion, created by African slaves brought to Cuba starting in the 16th century, combines aspects of Yoruba orisha worship and Spanish Catholicism. It allowed African religious beliefs and practices to survive despite the imposition of Catholic doctrine. One of the outcomes of this amalgamation is the practice of associating individual orishas (deities) with certain Catholic saints. Each orisha is represented by specific necklaces that incorporate particular bead forms, colors, and numbers.

Die Perle: A 1920s German Trade Journal, by Anita von Kahler Gumpert and Karlis Karklins

Though short lived, the German trade journal, Die Perle, contains a wealth of information concerning the European bead and jewelry industry of the 1920s. Short articles provide insight into new machinery and apparatus for producing beads, natural and artificial materials for the production of beads and other ornaments, fashion trends, market reports, and numerous other topics. As well, there are several departments which deal with specific themes such as technical questions and sources of supplies. As the journals are in German, English summaries are provided for a representative sample of the articles to give the reader an idea of their vast scope.

Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century Manufacture of Drawn Glass Tubing for Glass Beads, by Lester A. Ross

Late 19th- and early 20th-century archaeological sites often contain machine-made drawn glass beads with unique shapes and perforations. Little information exists documenting when these beads were initially manufactured. Through an examination of hundreds of U.S. patents, it appears that the mechanized production of drawn beads could have occurred as early as the late 19th-century, but more likely, they were not mass produced until the end of World War I, after the invention of the Danner process for mechanically drawing glass tubing. Machine-made drawn beads with multiple sides and/or shaped perforations also appear to have been produced by the late-19th century, but again, mass production probably did not occur until around the end of World War I.

Elemental Analyses of North American Glass Trade Beads, by R.G.V. Hancock

Although European-made glass trade beads can be sorted into bead varieties and studied in that manner on the basis of physical attributes, much more information can be obtained about them by means of chemical analysis. Such analyses produce chemical fingerprints that may be compared and grouped. Bead varieties that have matching chemistries were made using the same ingredients that probably came from the same sources, suggesting that they were made in a specific manufacturing center and probably during the same approximate time period. Using this information may help to establish with which European nationals specific indigenous people were dealing and may perhaps even link archaeologically recovered beads to the European beadmaking houses from whence they came.

Thirteen-Hundred-Year-Old Bead Adornments from Baar, Canton Zug, Switzerland, by Katharina Müller; translated by Sandy Hämmerle

In the year 2000, an Early Medieval (7th-century) cemetery containing more than 200 burials with rich grave goods was discovered in Baar, Canton Zug, Switzerland. Thanks to the painstaking methods used in the excavation and recording of the 2,985 glass, amber, coral, and amethyst beads found with the female burials, it was possible to reconstruct the necklaces and sewn-on appliqués they were part of. Comparisons with mosaic depictions of famous women–such as the Empress Theodora in San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy–suggest that the people of Baar imitated southern Alpine Byzantine bead jewelry fashion.

Beads 18 (2006)

Classification and Nomenclature of Beads and Pendants, by Horace C. Beck

The year 2006 marks the 80th anniversary of the presentation of a “Classification and Nomenclature of Beads and Pendants” by Horace C. Beck to the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1926. It was subsequently published in the society’s journal Archaeologia in 1928 (vol. 77, pp. 1-76). While it is somewhat out of date, it nevertheless remains a classic in its field and is still the only comprehensive work that deals with the classification of beads of complex shapes and forms. Seeing the value of this work, George Shumway reprinted it in 1973. This edition is now out of print. As Beck’s report remains a valuable research tool for bead researchers, the Society of Bead Researchers decided to reprint it so it would again be available to bead scholars around the world. The version presented here replicates the original 1928 version with the addition of an addendum that presents corrections and additions made to the manuscript by Beck up to 1934.

Beads 19 (2008)

In Memoriam: Mary Elizabeth Good, 1930-2007, by Marvin T. Smith

Bead researcher Mary Elizabeth Good died December 18, 2007. A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, she was 77 years old. Mary Elizabeth was well-known and respected as an early researcher of trade beads in North America. Her first publication, “Guebert Site: An 18th century Historic Kaskaskia Indian Village in Randolph County, Illinois” (1972), is considered a classic in bead studies. Mary Elizabeth was active in the Society of Bead Researchers, serving as Chair of the Publications Committee from 1989 to 1993, and as President of the Society from 1994 to 1996. The bead community has lost an important member.

World War I Turkish Prisoner-of-War Beadwork, by Jane A. Kimball

Drawing on the rich tradition of textile crafts in the Ottoman Empire, Turkish soldiers incarcerated in British prison camps in the Middle East during and immediately after World War I made a variety of beadwork items to relieve the boredom of their prolonged imprisonment and to barter or sell for food and other amenities. Best known are the bead crochet snakes and lizards, but the prisoners also used loomed and netting techniques to produce necklaces, belts, purses, and other small items.

Eighteenth-Century Glass Beads from the English Slaving Fort at Bunce Island, Sierra Leone, by Karlis Karklins

While countless tons of European glass beads flowed into West Africa over the centuries, there is still relatively little information concerning what specific nations were importing over time. It was therefore of great interest to learn about two collections of beads surface collected at the site of a British slaving fort that operated on Bunce Island in the Sierra Leone estuary of coastal Sierra Leone from the late 17th to the early 19th century. Although it is impossible to assign the beads to a specific period in the fort’s history, it is clear that they are of 18th-century origin and were part of the goods traded by the British. The present study describes the small but diverse collection of beads and places them in historical context.

An Archaeological Approach to Understanding the Meaning of Beads Using the Example of Korean National Treasure 634, A Bead from a 5th-6th-Century Royal Silla Tomb, by James W. Lankton and Marjorie Bernbaum

An ancient bead is a document from the past—a message in a bottle—written in some lost symbolic language. Archaeologists try to understand that language by integrating scientific and technological approaches with the social, economic, political, and symbolic/religious context in which the bead was found. As an example, we use Korean National Treasure 634 (NT634), a dark blue glass bead adorned with mosaic decorations of a bird, a flowering tree, and a human face, found in a 5th-6th century Korean tomb. This bead suggests its meaning by how and where it was made, and what its images may represent.

Western Indian (Mewar) Chalcolithic Beads with Special Reference to Balathal, by Alok Kumar Kanungo, Virendra Nath Misra, and Vasant Shinde

During the last few years, Indian archaeologists have concentrated their efforts on the investigation of sites of the 3rd to 2nd millennia B.C. in the Mewar region of western India. Unfortunately, most of the excavations have been focused on understanding the cultural sequence, settlement patterns, architecture, and pottery at the sites and have neglected the study of such important artifact categories as beads. As no final reports have been published and the excavations have been carried out by different agencies, reconstructing the bead culture of this area is very difficult. We know quite a bit about the beads of the urban Harappans but know practically nothing about those used by the contemporary rural Chalcolithic people. This paper discusses the beads recovered from a number of Chalcolithic sites, with emphasis on the oldest village in India—Balathal.

Chemical Composition of Late 18th- and 19th-Century Glass Beads from Western North America: Clues to Sourcing Beads, by Laurie E. Burgess and Laure Dussubieux

The Sullivans Island glass bead collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History contains over 56,000 beads which date from the late 18th to the late 19th century. Excavated in the 1930s from a site on the Columbia River in the Plateau region of North America, this collection contains examples of most known bead varieties for this time period. Many of the beads conform to varieties that have been attributed to Bohemia, Venice, and China—three of the main bead-producing centers for this time period. One hundred and twenty-four beads were subjected to Laser-Ablation Inductively-Coupled Mass-Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analysis at the Smithsonian’s Materials Conservation Institute to see if the chemical composition of the glass could be correlated with a place of origin. The results revealed several distinct compositional groups, some of which could be linked to geographical areas.