BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Volume 24

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7264/5mhtv769

Published July 25, 2012

Volume 24 cover, an elderly woman wears many strands of beads.

Issue description

Beads is published annually by the Society of Bead Researchers, a non-profit scientific-educational organization which aims to foster serious research on beads and beadwork of all materials and periods, and to expedite the dissemination of the resultant knowledge. Subscription is by membership in the Society. Membership is open to all persons involved in the study of beads, as well as those interested in keeping abreast of current trends in bead research.

Full Issue

Articles

  1. Barbie Campbell Cole

    Heirloom Blue-Glass Melon Beads of the Tani Tribes, Northeast India

    The Tani tribes of Arunachal Pradesh in India's remote northeast wear various heirloom necklaces including those composed of highly distinctive melon-shaped beads of wound turquoise-blue glass. These are unique to central Arunachal and were already of considerable age and very highly prized in the early 19th century. The Tanis believe their beads were made by a mythical ancestor in Tibet, but their bubbly opaque blue glass and wound method of production suggest a Chinese origin. The beads have local names which appear to link them to Tsari, one of Tibet's most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites. For centuries, the hostile animist Tanis were bought off by the Tibetan government with ornaments and other gifts in return for not robbing the Tsari pilgrims. This article seeks to determine if the Tani melon beads were part of this Tsari "barbarian tribute," as well as where and when they were made, and why they were traded into this region of Northeast India and not elsewhere.

  2. Laure Dussubieux, Bernard Gratuze

    Chemical Composition of 16th- to 18th-Century Glass Beads Excavated in Paris

    Dating from the 16th to 18th centuries, 63 glass artifacts (mostly beads) recovered from two sites in Paris, France, were investigated using chemical analysis in an attempt to determine their place of origin. The late-16th-century material from the Jardins du Carrousel consisted of small, monochrome drawn beads with a soda-lime composition. Attributed to the 17th and 18th centuries, the beads recovered at the adjacent site of the Cours Napoléon were more diverse in shape, color, and composition. Although provenance attribution was difficult due to a lack of comparative data, it was possible to identify an increasing variety of glass recipes after the 16th century that revealed a growing interest in glass beads in Europe. In the 17th century and afterwards, greater numbers of glass- and glass-bead production centers were active, quite certainly due to a growing demand for export goods but also due to a more extensive use of beads in France.

  3. Kenneth E. Kidd, Martha Ann Kidd

    A Classification System for Glass Beads for the Use of Field Archaeologists

    As a result of examination of numerous collections of glass beads in northeastern North America and elsewhere, and as a result of a study of the procedures used in their manufacture, the authors propose a classification and nomenclature which they hope will permit exact descriptions and a reference base for all beads found in archaeological excavations. New bead types may be added to the system which is expansible to accommodate all possible variations.

  4. Karlis Karklins

    Guide to the Description and Classification of Glass Beads Found in the Americas

    This guide provides information relevant to the description and classification of glass beads recovered from archaeological sites in North and South America and the Caribbean. It is partly based on and intended to be used with "A Classification System for Glass Beads for the Use of Field Archaeologists," by Kenneth and Martha Kidd. Material presented includes a critical evaluation of several bead classification schemes, an overview of bead manufacturing techniques, a descriptive listing of the various classes and types of beads that have been recorded to date, and an explication of the physical attributes of a bead, as well as interpretative material concerning dating and likely origins.

  5. Charles Bradley, Karlis Karklins

    A Wampum-Inlaid Musket from the 1690 Phips' Shipwreck

    In August of 1690, a fleet of ships under the command of Sir William Phips set sail from Boston to attack Quebec City during the second year of King William's War. The campaign failed and, as the fleet retreated, a number of vessels were wrecked in the St. Lawrence during a violent storm. The remains of one of these was discovered by a diver in a cove at l'Anse aux Bouleaux, Quebec, in 1994. Believed to be the Elizabeth and Mary, the wreck yielded numerous artifacts, including a wide array of weaponry. Among the long arms was a musket whose stock was decorated on either side with two crosses created by inserting wampum into holes drilled into the wood. Likely the property of a Praying Indian, this unique weapon is described in detail and comparisons made to other contemporary Native American objects decorated in a similar manner.

Reviews

Memorials

  1. Karlis Karklins

    In Memoriam: Roderick Sprague, 1933-2012

    An archaeologist, educator, and a pioneer in North American trade bead research, Dr. Roderick Sprague passed away in Moscow, Idaho, on 20 August 2012. A staunch supporter of the Society of Bead Researchers, he served as its president from 2004 to 2007, and chaired the Editorial Advisory Committee for a good number of years as well. He also contributed a number of useful articles, news items, and reviews to both the Society's publications. His moral support and the useful comments and suggestions he made concerning these publications will be sorely missed.