Abstract
It has been shown that several modifications occurred, over the span of the 17th to 19th centuries, in the agents used to opacify European-made white soda-glass beads that were transmitted as trade goods to northeastern North America. Tin was used at the beginning of the 17th century, followed by Sb later in the century, and then by As during the 18th and 19th centuries. In an attempt to define more closely the transition from Sn-rich to Sb-rich white beads, we analyzed 198 white glass beads from a number of archaeological sites in western New York State. Chemical analysis shows that the arrival of Sb-white soda-glass trade beads began in this region during the period from approximately A.D. 1625–1640, and that they had completely replaced Sn-white beads by A.D. 1675. Specific bead chemistries link a number of the archaeological sites.
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Sempowski, M., Nohe, A., Moreau, JF. et al. On the Transition from Tin-Rich to Antimony-Rich European White Soda-Glass Trade Beads for the Senecas of Northeastern North America. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry 244, 559–566 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006767930385
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006767930385