A Precolumbian Presence of Venetian Glass Trade Beads in Arctic Alaska
Excavation at three Late Prehistoric Eskimo sites in arctic Alaska has revealed the presence of Venetian glass trade beads in radiocarbon-dated contexts that predate Columbus's discovery of the Western Hemisphere. The bead variety, commonly known as “Early Blue” and “Ichtucknee Plain,” has been...
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2021
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/aaq.2020.100 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0002731620001006 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/aaq.2020.100 2024-06-09T07:43:48+00:00 A Precolumbian Presence of Venetian Glass Trade Beads in Arctic Alaska Kunz, Michael L. Mills, Robin O. 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/aaq.2020.100 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0002731620001006 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms American Antiquity volume 86, issue 2, page 395-412 ISSN 0002-7316 2325-5064 journal-article 2021 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/aaq.2020.100 2024-05-15T13:10:56Z Excavation at three Late Prehistoric Eskimo sites in arctic Alaska has revealed the presence of Venetian glass trade beads in radiocarbon-dated contexts that predate Columbus's discovery of the Western Hemisphere. The bead variety, commonly known as “Early Blue” and “Ichtucknee Plain,” has been confirmed by expert examination and comparative Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA). The beads are present in sites throughout the Caribbean, the eastern coast of Central and North America, and the eastern Great Lakes region, where they are commonly found in sites dating between approximately AD 1550 and 1750, although a diminishing presence continues into the early 1800s. Beads of this variety have not previously been reported from Alaska. Ascribed to Venetian production by their precolumbian age, the beads challenge the currently accepted chronology for the development of their production methodology, availability, and presence in the Americas. In the absence of trans-Atlantic communication, the most likely route these beads traveled from Europe to northwestern Alaska is across Eurasia and over the Bering Strait. This is the first documented instance of the presence of indubitable European materials in prehistoric sites in the Western Hemisphere as the result of overland transport across the Eurasian continent. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Bering Strait eskimo* Alaska Cambridge University Press Arctic Bering Strait American Antiquity 86 2 395 412 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Excavation at three Late Prehistoric Eskimo sites in arctic Alaska has revealed the presence of Venetian glass trade beads in radiocarbon-dated contexts that predate Columbus's discovery of the Western Hemisphere. The bead variety, commonly known as “Early Blue” and “Ichtucknee Plain,” has been confirmed by expert examination and comparative Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA). The beads are present in sites throughout the Caribbean, the eastern coast of Central and North America, and the eastern Great Lakes region, where they are commonly found in sites dating between approximately AD 1550 and 1750, although a diminishing presence continues into the early 1800s. Beads of this variety have not previously been reported from Alaska. Ascribed to Venetian production by their precolumbian age, the beads challenge the currently accepted chronology for the development of their production methodology, availability, and presence in the Americas. In the absence of trans-Atlantic communication, the most likely route these beads traveled from Europe to northwestern Alaska is across Eurasia and over the Bering Strait. This is the first documented instance of the presence of indubitable European materials in prehistoric sites in the Western Hemisphere as the result of overland transport across the Eurasian continent. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kunz, Michael L. Mills, Robin O. |
spellingShingle |
Kunz, Michael L. Mills, Robin O. A Precolumbian Presence of Venetian Glass Trade Beads in Arctic Alaska |
author_facet |
Kunz, Michael L. Mills, Robin O. |
author_sort |
Kunz, Michael L. |
title |
A Precolumbian Presence of Venetian Glass Trade Beads in Arctic Alaska |
title_short |
A Precolumbian Presence of Venetian Glass Trade Beads in Arctic Alaska |
title_full |
A Precolumbian Presence of Venetian Glass Trade Beads in Arctic Alaska |
title_fullStr |
A Precolumbian Presence of Venetian Glass Trade Beads in Arctic Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Precolumbian Presence of Venetian Glass Trade Beads in Arctic Alaska |
title_sort |
precolumbian presence of venetian glass trade beads in arctic alaska |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/aaq.2020.100 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0002731620001006 |
geographic |
Arctic Bering Strait |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Bering Strait |
genre |
Arctic Bering Strait eskimo* Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Bering Strait eskimo* Alaska |
op_source |
American Antiquity volume 86, issue 2, page 395-412 ISSN 0002-7316 2325-5064 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/aaq.2020.100 |
container_title |
American Antiquity |
container_volume |
86 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
395 |
op_container_end_page |
412 |
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1801372660589920256 |