Glass beads in the northern regions of Rus’: issues of trade routes and chronology

• Main Author: Inna Kuzina
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: German; English; Polish
• Published: Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences 2016
• Subjects: Ruś średniowieczna; paciorki szklane; Ruś > region północny; szlaki handlowe; handel futrami; Auxiliary sciences of history; C; Prehistoric archaeology; GN700-890; Medieval history; D111-203; Rus’; Russian North
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/33a8d1b4c0d946008787b7b15c8dcae2

The article is devoted to issues connected with trade routes and chronology of glass beads in the northern regions of medieval Rus’: Priladozh’e and Belozer’e (Russian North ), corresponding today mainly to the Leningrad and Vologda regions. Barter in the fur trade caused huge quantities of glass beads to be concentrated in settlements of the region. Different bead types were present in three chronological periods: 10th–beginning of 11th c., 11th, 12th–13th centuries. Comparison of certain bead types traces the routes by which glass beads came to the north of Rus’. Another method calls for comparing bead necklaces from burials. Cemeteries of the 11th c. in Belozer’e have helped to clarify some of the issues. A characteristic of trade routes in the 12th–13th centuries is limited due to a decline in the number of beads from archaeological sites.