Beads 34 Carter v9 (original) (raw)
Related papers
BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers, 2022
This paper reviews stone (agate and carnelian) and glass bead assemblages from three sites in northwest Cambodia: Lovea, Prei Khmeng, and Sophy. Beads from all three sites were largely found in burial contexts dating to the Iron Age or protohistoric period (500 BCE-500 CE). While stone and glass beads are frequently markers of contact with South Asia, they are also informative for understanding intra-regional exchange networks within Southeast Asia. An analysis of the glass beads identifies that most beads were made from a high-alumina mineral-soda glass. Compositional and morphological analysis of the stone beads suggests that they were likely produced from an Indian raw material source and using South Asian production techniques. Overall, the bead assemblages from all three sites show connections to other sites in Cambodia and Thailand and especially seem to be part of the broader Mekong Interaction Sphere exchange network.
By Alison Carter, Laure Dussubieux, Nancy Beavan. Abstract: A total of 74 glass beads, included as grave goods in 15th–17th century ce jar burials from Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains, were analysed using laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS). Several glass types were identified, including two subtypes of high-alumina mineral soda glass, and lead–potash glass. The final glass type represents a newly discovered and previously unidentified type of high-alumina soda glass, with high magnesia (m-Na–Al Mg>). This study represents the first glass data from the mid-second millennium ce from Cambodia and sheds light on the multiple long-distance maritime exchange networks in which the upland people buried in the jars were participating.
Angkor Borei and Protohistoric Trade Networks: A View from the Glass and Stone Bead Assemblage
Asian Perspectives, 2020
Angkor Borei, Cambodia was an important urban center related to the early first millennium C.E. polity known as Funan. Excavations in the protohistoric period Vat Komnou Cemetery site uncovered over 1300 glass and stone beads, which are important material indicators of trade. In this article, we review data from earlier studies and add new previously unpublished data on glass and stone beads from this collection as well as previously unpublished glass compositional analyses from the nearby site of Oc Eo, Vietnam. Examinations of the glass beads highlight the presence of large quantities of high alumina mineral soda glass associated with Sri Lankan or South Indian bead production as well as smaller quantities of other glass types in circulation throughout Southeast Asia. Compositional and morphological studies of agate/carnelian beads show strong affinities with the Indian bead industry, while the garnet beads came from raw material sources in southern India. Overall, Angkor Borei’s bead collection shows strong contacts with different regions of South Asia. Comparison with the bead assemblages of other contemporaneous sites demonstrate strong affinities with sites farther inland, such as Phum Snay and Prei Khmeng, Cambodia and Ban Non Wat, Thailand rather than other maritime coastal sites in Southeast Asia. We argue that the stone and glass beads at Angkor Borei are related to intensified interaction with South Asia and that elites at Angkor Borei used these exotic prestige goods to build alliances with sites farther inland forming an intraregional exchange network we call the Mekong Interaction Sphere.
Beads made of glass and stone found at Iron Age period sites (500 BC – AD 500) in Southeast Asia are amongst the first signs for sustained trade and sociopolitical contact with South Asia. Because of this, they have become important artifacts for scholars wishing to better understand trade networks and sociopolitical development during this period. Using compositional analysis scholars can identify the recipes used to make these glass beads and in some cases this can be tied back to specific places or time periods. Current research indicates there were multiple glass bead production centers across South and Southeast Asia during this period. However there has not yet been a comprehensive examination of glass beads from Iron Age sites in Cambodia. This paper aims to fill this gap by presenting the results from a compositional analysis of glass beads from six Iron Age sites in Cambodia. Using a virtually non-destructive compositional technique (LA-ICP-MS), I was able to determine the presence of at least two glass bead-trading networks in Cambodia during the Iron Age.
Stone Beads of South and Southeast Asia
Stone Beads of South and Southeast Asia: Archaeology, Ethnography and Global Connections is by far the most comprehensive book on stone beads. With contributions from 25 leading scholars from 17 research institutions of eight countries, the book dwells on related matter from ancient as well as modern India and other regions of South Asia. Stone beads have gained the reputation of being one of the most important markers of prehistoric technological complexity, especially in South Asia. Their study is crucial for understanding our past contacts, technology and trade, besides comprehending our mastery over material culture and the procurement of diverse raw materials. Keeping this in mind, this book discusses, with the help of literary and epigraphical references, the development of stone beads through the ages, the utility and fruitfulness of typologies, the techniques historically used in their production and finally the modern scientific procedures which can be used in their study to better understand and interpret the past technology. It also deals with ethnohistorical studies of Khambhat (Cambay) to understand the historical development of the city—the most prominent traditional stone bead industry of the world—since the crafts started there, and ethnographical studies to know the symbolism behind the aggressive use of particular products. The combined output of this book is a result of long-term fieldwork and experimental and scientific studies in laboratories in not only answering the statics of beads like 'when' and 'where' but also cognitivism, that is, 'why' and 'how'.
Interpreting Southeast Asia's Past, Volume 2: Monument, Image and Text, 2008
Beads are important and often culturally diagnostic artifacts, although their full archaeological, chronological, and ethno-historical information potential may be difficult to unlock, at least in part because of spread through long-distance trade, possible longevity in use, and the visual similarity of many beads, particularly to the non-specialist. In contrast to the relatively extensive research on small Indo-Pacific beads, there has been little academic attention to other types of South and Southeast Asian glass beads from the first millennium CE. We report here on four such groups: Bird Star, dark blue or black drawn beads with a trailed design in white glass of a bird on one side and a star on the other; hexagonal bicone, usually translucent beads from two to five centimeters long; opaque monochrome beads, ranging from one to three centimeters in diameter; and Jatim, large and small polychrome beads named for their close association with east Java, or Jawa Timur. Although there is little archaeological or textual data for these beads, we find that compositional analyses, derived from LA-ICP-MS, SEM-EDS and EPMA measurements, can help answer such questions as what types of glass were used for their manufacture, and was it imported or locally produced; was the glass colored locally; who made the Jatim millefiori mosaic canes; and do the four types of glass beads represent four separate traditions? The answers to these questions help us to characterize potential beadmaking sites, and give us some insight into the technological choices made by the beadmakers themselves.