| Original Message: Today, through sheer luck in choosing a search string, I found some useful articles |
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1) “Tracing History in Dia, in the Inland Niger Delta of Mali -
Archaeology, Oral Traditions and Written Sources”
Noemie Arazi
A large 30.7MB PDF with over 400 instances of the word "bead," as well as a discussion of stone beads (carnelian) Tidbit of interest re: quartz beads "The chronology of two beads found in Horizon I, is somewhat disturbing. I have thus interpreted them as intrusive finds. They include a so-called Venetian “eye” bead (C089/a002), showing white, blue and yellow spots on a black surface (Fig.7.18). Venetian eye beads usually date to the middle of the second millennium AD, which stands in stark contrast with the identification of this bead in layers dating between 800-400 BC. The second bead (C064/a005) recovered in Horizon I layers is made of quartz and is of considerable size, measuring 4.2cm in length and 2.7cm in width, weighing 72.0 grams (Fig.7.19). One of our Malian team members thought that it resembled what is locally known as a “Louani”, which is used by Peulh women as a hair decor." [2nd pic below is from this document] https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1444342/1/U591645.pdf 2) The beads of Kissi, Burkina Faso By Sonja Magnavita https://www.academia.edu/10172967/ "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 4th century BC up to the 12th /13th 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. Summary Archaeological research in the settlement and burial areas near the Mare de Kissi in NE Burkina Faso has shown that human occupation in this region extended at least between the 4th century BC and the 12th/13th century AD. Beads constitute an important part of the archaeological remains: nearly 5,000 beads of different materials have been discovered, mainly in funerary contexts, but also in residential areas. A preferential distribution of raw materials is visible between the beads unearthed in residential areas and those from cemeteries: there is a tendency towards the use of less valuable materials in residential areas, while the beads found in cemeteries demonstrate the wealth and important economic relations of this society." First pic attached is a screen grab of an illustration from this article. 3) Actual materials analysis work done on African carnelian beads - Insoll, T., Polya, D., Bhan, K., Irving, D. and Jarvis, K. 2004. Towards an Understanding of the Carnelian Bead Trade from Western India to sub-Saharan Africa: The Application of UV-LA-ICP-MS to Carnelian from Gujarat, India, and West Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science 31: 1161-73 https://www.academia.edu/11946876/Insoll_T_Polya_D_Bhan_K_Irving_D_and_Jarvis_K_2004_Towards_an_Understanding_of_the_Carnelian_Bead_Trade_from_Western_India_to_sub_Saharan_Africa_The_Application_of_UV_LA_ICP_MS_to_Carnelian_from_Gujarat_India_and_West_Africa_Journal_of_Archaeological_Science_31_1161_73 "A trade in carnelian from Gujarat, especially the town of Khambhat, and parts of sub-Saharan Africa is often discussed in the literature. To date, such assertions have been based upon putative visual parallels between African and Indian samples, and upon historical sources. This paper outlines the results of UV-LA-ICP-MS analysis and subsequent principal component analysis undertaken in an attempt to differentiate Gujarati and West African carnelian samples, and thus begins to allow inferences to be made regarding a possible trade in carnelian between these two regions primarily in the medieval period, based upon more objective data." 4) Amazonite. https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/mac/canmin/article-abstract/55/4/651/519860/Searching-For-the-Garamantian-Emerald "In the current literature, Saharan green-colored stone beads are identified with the term émeraude garamantique, while several archaeological investigations on Garamantian contexts referred to them as amazonite. Moreover, according to the hypothesis proposed by Monod, authors identify the only source of amazonite to be the pegmatite swarm at Eghei Zuma (northern Tibesti, Libya). To check this assumption, we characterized the composition of green-colored stone beads found at Fewet, a Garamantian site (2nd century BC – 1st century AD) in the Libyan Sahara. We performed electron microprobe analyses on stone beads from Fewet and ethnographic contexts of Mali, Mauritania, and Sudan. Furthermore, lacking a regional database on amazonite to compare the geochemical properties of archaeological beads, we analyzed amazonite crystals from several African pegmatites, including samples from Eghei Zuma. The results show that green-colored stone beads from Fewet consist of serpentinite and amazonite. The K/Rb versus Rb diagram reveals that the source of the amazonite from Fewet could not be the pegmatite at Eghei Zuma. The raw material for amazonite beads traded in Garamantian times originated from Egypt and Mauritania. We discuss the archaeological implications of our results, which concerns the directions of ancient trade routes for elite goods in Garamantian times." Yet, none of these show examples of the purported "Dogon" gneiss(or granite or diorite or whatever) beads. Such lack of evidence supporting your hypothesis pushing the manufacture of these beads into the second millenium, possibly post-15th century, possible even more recent? They do show wear, often with a soft, satiny polish, presumably from decades of being worn next to human skin in a hot, dusty climate. I'd really like to know where the stone was quarried and who manufactured the beads. And of course, when. All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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