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On behalf of my co-authors, I'm happy to share our new paper!
We use experimental and archaeological data to reconstruct an ancient bead tradition from Malawi, AND we announce the oldest directly dated snail beads (9500 BP).
Available open-access:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-021-01274-8
We use experimental and archaeological data to reconstruct an ancient bead tradition from Malawi, AND we announce the oldest directly dated snail beads (9500 BP).
Available open-access:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-021-01274-8
Beads made on giant land snail shells (
) are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, mostly from Iron Age contexts. They closely resemble OES (
) beads, but the two materials have unique properties...
Were beads made in the same way as beads?
) are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, mostly from Iron Age contexts. They closely resemble OES () beads, but the two materials have unique properties...Were
beads made in the same way as beads?
To explore this question, we studied preform assemblages (excavated by @YalePaleoarch, Jess Thompson) from 3 sites in Malawi, including Hora-1 (yes, THAT Hora!).
Dates on 2 preforms returned similar ages of 9500 BP, proving that the roots of beads precede the Iron Age.
preform assemblages (excavated by @YalePaleoarch, Jess Thompson) from 3 sites in Malawi, including Hora-1 (yes, THAT Hora!).Dates on 2 preforms returned similar ages of 9500 BP, proving that the roots of
beads precede the Iron Age.
preforms follow the same steps as , but they are often Pathway 2 (see pic), which is opposite to preforms which are usually Pathway 1. To aid future study, we provide a modified production sequence including images (shown below) and thorough descriptions of each stage.
Plenty more is in the article, including experimental shell breakage, morphometric analyses, and pXRF data of red residues.
We want to stress that beadmaking is more than just a series of steps, it is culturally transmitted behavior that can help reveal ancient social dynamics.
We want to stress that beadmaking is more than just a series of steps, it is culturally transmitted behavior that can help reveal ancient social dynamics.
Thank you to the project PI and my co-contributor, Jess Thompson, as well as our co-authors (H. Keller, @claire_heckel, P. Kaliba).
And thanks to you, dear reader, for checking out our snails
And thanks to you, dear reader, for checking out our snails
