Glass beads from Dren-Delyan necropolis (archaeological and chemical study) (original) (raw)
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Conte et al 2018 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences
Knowledge of glass trading in protohistoric Southern Italy has been limited by a lack of archeometrical data available to date, preventing comparison with the well-known Northern Italian context. The aim of the present work is to help fill the data gap for Southern Bronze-Iron Age vitreous items and enable a general overview of protohistoric Italian glass supply routes. The paper presents physical-chemical data for 61 vitreous items from 11 Southern Italian sites, dated from the beginning of the Bronze Age up to the Archaic period (22nd-6th century BC), ensuring a complete diachronic analysis. SEM-EDS, EMPA, LA-ICPMS, and XRD analyses permitted definition of the raw materials and manufacturing techniques employed, as well as determination of item provenance. The sample set exhibits great variability of glass chemical types, including plant ash glass, mixed alkali, and natron samples. A complex picture emerges, mostly as regards the different natron glass typologies (High-Zr, Low-Zr, Black, etc.) and their rapid technological evolution in the early 1st millennium BC. Taking into account the data reported in this study and those available in literature for both Northern and Southern Italian Bronze-Iron Ages items, this work demonstrates the existence of different trade routes for the first time. This is especially true for the Early/Middle Bronze Age periods, with Northern Italy involved in trade with Central Europe, and South already involved in Mediterranean trade circuits.
Chemical Composition of Glass Beads from the Necropolis of Apollonia Pontica (5th–3rd Century BC)
This work presents the results of our analysis of glass beads from Apollonia Pontica (now the town of Sozopol on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast), obtained by PIXE (proton induced X-ray emission) and PIGE (proton induced gamma emission). The concentration of 25 elements in the earliest glass materials in Bulgaria, those found in the necropolis of Apollonia Pontica, are determined and discussed. The glass pieces are dated to the 5 th -3 rd century BC. Elemental concentration data show that the glass beads belong to the Na 2 O-CaO-SiO 2 or Na 2 O-CaO-SiO 2 -Al 2 O 3 -glass type. Different shades of blue colour in the studied samples are a result of the combination of Fe 2 O 3 , CoO, and CuO; the yellow colour is obtained by the combination of Fe 2 O 3 , PbO, and Sb 2 O 3 , resulting in a chemical compound between lead and antimony with the composition of Pb 2 Sb 2 O 7 ; and the greenish colour is due to certain amount of Fe 2 O 3 .
Celtic Beads from the British Isles
Questioning what types of beads would have been in use during the Iron Age in Britain and drawing deeply from the work of the late bead researcher Margaret Guido I’ve amassed a collocation of information which one can draw from not just for bead information concerning the Iron Age Celts in the Isles, but also for those interested in Celtic adornment and bead reproduction. Please note, my citing is poor the majority of information and many of the pictures have come from Guido’s work ‘The Glass Beads of the Prehistoric and Roman Periods in Britain and Ireland’, (London: The Society of Antiquaries of London, 1978). I want to thank not just Guido for her amass of research, but also a wealth of museums and other sources for their invaluable photos, many of which I have to note are copyright protected.
Early primary glass production in southern Nigeria (Lankton et al 2006, JAfricanArch 4)
Journal of African Archaeology, 2006
Fragmentary glass-working crucibles, drawn glass beads and ritual glass objects (aje ileke) from Ile-Ife, southwestern Nigeria, were analysed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). The very unusual high-lime, high-alumina glass lining the crucibles matched the composition of the dark blue drawn beads and some of the blue and green glass fragments in the aje ileke. Similar crucible fragments, glass cullet and drawn glass beads were recovered during Frank Willett's excavations (1956-63) of two sites in Ile-Ife, and Claire Davison's unpublished chemical analyses from 1972 show the same high-lime, high alumina glass from Ita Yemoo, with radiocarbon dates from the eleventh to thirteenth century CE, and Orun Oba Ado, with radiocarbon dates from the eighth to twelfth century. Such high-lime, high-alumina glass has been found only in West Africa, including Igbo Ukwu in southern Nigeria, and is not known from Europe, the Middle East or Asia, ruling out the possibility that the glass was imported. We interpret these findings to propose the primary manufacture of high-lime, high-alumina glass in sub-Saharan Africa in the early second millennium CE, with production centred in southern Nigeria, and quite possibly in or near Ile-Ife. The results of our study, combined with those of Davison, provide the first strong evidence for early primary glass production in sub-Saharan Africa.
Glass beads in Iron Age and early modern Taiwan: an introduction
BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers, 2018
Archaeological research has revealed a long history of glass bead exchange and use in Taiwan, yet it has seldom been discussed in the literature. This paper provides an introduction to this exchange from the Iron Age (ca. late 1st millennium BC - mid-2nd millennium AD) to the early modern period (ca. AD 1600-1900) by revisiting the archaeological and historical records. It is suggested that changes in bead styles and chemical compositions over time reveal the transition of bead supply in Taiwan, which further reflects two broad phases of bead trade: Phase I) the earlier involvement of Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific bead exchange (1st millennium AD) and Phase II) the later cultural and economic contacts between the indigenous people, Chinese merchants, and Europeans (2nd millennium AD).
The beads of Kissi, Burkina Faso
Journal of African Archaeology, Vol. 1 (1), 2003, pages 127-138, DOI 10.3213/1612-1651-10005, 2003
Archaeological investigations on settlements and graveyards near the Mare de Kissi in NE Burkina Faso proved human occupation at that location at least from the 4 th century BC up to the 12 th /13 th century AD. Among others, one important category of finds recovered from excavations are beads: about five thousand of various materials were found, especially as grave goods in the cemeteries, but also in the settlement zones. A clear imbalance in raw materials is visible between beads found in the settlement zones and those from the cemeteries: there is a trend towards low value materials in the settlement zones, while beads found in the graves demonstrate wealth and important trade relations of that society. Résumé Les recherches archéologiques dans les zones d'habitat et d'inhumation près de la Mare de Kissi au NE du Burkina Faso ont montré que l'occupation humaine dans cette région s'étendait au moins entre le 4 ème siècle BC et le 12 ème /13 ème siècle AD. Les perles constituent une part importante des vestiges archéologiques: près de 5000 perles de différents matériaux ont été découvertes, principalement en contexte funéraire, mais aussi dans les zones d'habitation. Une distribution préférentielle des matières premières est visible entre les perles mises au jour dans les zones d'habitation et celles des cimetières: il y a une tendance à l'utilisation de matériaux de moindre valeur dans les zones d'habitation, alors que les perles trouvées dans les cimetières montrent la richesse et les importantes relations économiques de cette société.
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2018
The site of Igbo Olokun on the northern periphery of Ile-Ife has been recognized as a glass-working workshop for over a century. Its glass-encrusted crucibles and beads were viewed as evidence of secondary processing of imported glass until the high lime, high alumina (HLHA) composition of the glass was recognized as unique to the region. Archaeological excavations conducted at Igbo Olokun recovered more than twelve thousand glass beads and several kilograms of glass-working debris. Fifty-two glass beads from the excavated assemblage were analyzed by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) to understand the chemical characteristics of the Igbo Olokun glass beads in comparison with previously analyzed beads. The analyses affirm the prevalence of HLHA glass beads, and provide firm evidence of a new compositional group characterized by low lime, high alumina (LLHA); no imported soda-lime glass beads were among the analyzed samples. The evidence from crucibles indicates that LLHA glass was worked together with HLHA glass at Igbo Olokun and may have been made locally as part of the same technological tradition. Most likely, granitic sand with or without added calcium carbonate was used to produce these two types of glass, and colorants rich in MnO, Fe2O3 , CuO, and CoO were intentionally added. Its occurrence in other West African societies, and the presence of some soda-lime glass beads in other sites in Ile-Ife suggest that Ife was involved in regional and interregional networks during the early to mid 2nd millennium AD and possibly earlier.
2018