Zanzibar and Indian Ocean trade in the first millennium CE: the glass bead evidence
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Zanzibar and Indian Ocean trade in the first millennium CE: the glass bead evidence Marilee Wood 1 & Serena Panighello 2,3 & Emilio F. Orsega 2 & Peter Robertshaw 4 & Johannes T. van Elteren 3 & Alison Crowther 5 & Mark Horton 6 & Nicole Boivin 7
Received: 15 June 2015 / Accepted: 22 December 2015 # The Author(s) 2016. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Abstract Recent archaeological excavations at the seventhto tenth-century CE sites of Unguja Ukuu and Fukuchani on Zanzibar Island have produced large numbers of glass beads that shed new light on the island’s early interactions with the wider Indian Ocean world. A selected sample of the beads recovered was analyzed by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to determine the origins of the glass used to make the beads and potential trade relationships are considered. The data show that two major
glass types can be identified: mineral-soda glass, m-Na-Al, produced in Sri Lanka (and possibly South India) and plant ash soda glass. The latter comprises three subtypes: two with low alumina concentrations and different quantities of lime (here designated v-Na-Ca subtypes A and B) and one with high alumina (designated v-Na-Al). The v-Na-Ca subtype A beads are chemically similar to Sasanian type 1 glass as well as Zhizo beads found in southern Africa, while v-Na-Ca subtype B compares reasonably well with glasses from Syria and
Marilee Wood is a research associate at the University of the Witwatersrand and can be conctacted at the provided email address. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12520-015-0310-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Marilee Wood [email protected] Serena Panighello [email protected]
2
Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, University Ca’Foscari of Venice, Calle Larga S. Marta 2137, 30123 Venezia, Italy
3
Laboratory for Analytical Chemistry, National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
4
Department of Anthropology, California State University, 5500 University Parkway, San Bernardino, CA 92407-2397, USA
5
School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia 4072, Australia
6
Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Bristol, 43 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UU, UK
7
Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
Emilio F. Orsega [email protected] Peter Robertshaw [email protected] Alison Crowther [email protected] Mark Horton [email protected] Nicole Boivin [email protected]
1
School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Archaeol Anthropol Sci
the Levant. While the mineral-soda beads were made in South Asia, it appears likely that at least some of the plant ash beads were made in South or Southeast Asia from
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