Reconsidering the Precolumbian Presence of Venetian Glass Beads in Alaska

• Published in: American Antiquity
• Main Author: Blair, Elliot H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2021
• Subjects: Arctic; Alaska
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/aaq.2021.38; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S000273162100038X

In a recent article, Kunz and Mills (2021) report 10 drawn, a speo finished, turquoise blue, IIa40 beads manufactured in Venice and recovered from three late precontact sites in the Alaskan Arctic. They argue that these beads date to the fifteenth century, predating Columbus's arrival in the Americas. This conclusion is certainly in error because beads of this type were not manufactured prior to approximately AD 1560. The historical and archaeological evidence for this dating is substantial. Additionally, the elemental and radiocarbon evidence presented by Kunz and Mills (2021) supports a late sixteenth- to early seventeenth-century date for these beads.