From shell to glass
How beads reflect the changing cultural landscape of the seventeenth-century lower Potomac River valley
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12064335 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rebecca J Webster (0000-0002-0595-6090, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, corresponding author), Julia A King (0000-0002-7752-6823, Department of Anthropology, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, St. Mary’s City, MD, USA) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 142-159 |
| Publication date | 2018-07-18 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Southeastern Archaeology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0734-578X • E-ISSN: 2168-4723 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0734578x.2018.1495543 |
| OpenAlex | W2884698921 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 18 |
This article examines over 7,500 beads from eight Native archaeological sites located in the lower Potomac River valley in order to understand how changes in bead assemblages between AD 1300 and 1712 expressed an ever-evolving Chesapeake cultural landscape. This analysis demonstrates clear differences in the types and distributions of beads from mortuary and domestic/nonmortuary contexts. Ossuary contexts contained the highest frequency of beads with the number of beads increasing over time. Following the arrival of English settlers in the 1620s, glass beads begin to appear in ossuary contexts. Beads from domestic or nonmortuary contexts are fewer in number, and those present were manufactured using local materials, including bone and clay, as well as shell. However, after 1680, there is a shift from shell beads being predominate on Native sites, to sites containing exclusively glass beads, red and black glass beads in particular. Post-1680 sites appear to reflect Piscataway displacement and the disruption of indigenous trade routes, leading Natives to obtain beads from colonial vendors. The distribution of bead color, an important attribute for communicating Native states of being, also shifts after 1680, with assemblages once dominated by white shell beads now dominated by black and red glass beads
Archaeology · Bead · Biology · Composite material · Geography · Indigenous · River valley · Shell (structure · White (mutation · American History and Culture · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · Chemistry · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies · Materials Science · Ecology
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| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |