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Making Red Gold: An Evaluation of Ancient Shell Bead Perforation Techniques

Making Red Gold: An Evaluation of Ancient Shell Bead Perforation Techniques. Spondylus shell beads 200-1200 AD Lithic microdrills After 1200 AD? no drills…so how were they perforated?. Various uses Several cultures involved Chaquira /Chaîne I small regular known production process

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Making Red Gold: An Evaluation of Ancient Shell Bead Perforation Techniques

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  1. Making Red Gold: An Evaluation of Ancient Shell Bead Perforation Techniques

  2. Spondylus shell beads • 200-1200 AD • Lithic microdrills • After 1200 AD? • no drills…so how were they perforated?

  3. Various uses • Several cultures involved • Chaquira/Chaîne I • small • regular • known production process • Chaîne II • larger • irregular • undefined process

  4. c. 700-1500 A.D. • Dependent on water • Spondylus: possible • currency • Food: Fish, seabirds, domesticated animals, agriculture

  5. Chert • Wood • Oak • Brazilian Teak • Copper • Shell

  6. Abrasive material • Sand • Pumice • Water • Circulates abrasive material

  7. Pumice 500x Sand 100x

  8. SHAFT METHOD

  9. BOW DRILL METHOD

  10. “EPIC FAIL”

  11. Hydrophilic Vinyl Polysiloxane

  12. Coats non-metallic specimen with thin coat of gold palladium • Metallic coating necessary so specimen emits secondary electrons

  13. High accuracy 3-D images • Shows texture of drilled holes

  14. Chert drill tip with sand Chert drill tip with sand and water Chert drill tip Chertdrilltipwith water Chert drill tip with pumice

  15. Brazilianteak drill with pumice and water

  16. Spondylusshell drill and sand Spondylus shell drill and water Spondylus shell drill Spondylusshell drill and pumice Spondylus shell drill and pumice and water

  17. Red oak drill

  18. Copperdrill and sand Copperdrill Copper drill and water Copperdrill with pumice and water Copper drill and pumice

  19. Efficiency: • Most successful : chert • Mildly successful: teak, shell and copper • Unsuccessful: oak • Does this make sense?

  20. Variation in hole-making techniques • Different applications of auxiliary material • Variation in revolution counts • Differences in sharpness & roughness of drill tips

  21. Broader range of drill materials • Quantitative data & comparison to SEM images of the Manteño beads

  22. Many different possible techniques • Real process = efficient • yet to be discovered • Societal significance

  23. Dr. Carter • Katie Seither • Dr. Miyamoto • Drew University • Parent and alumni donors to NJGSS • John and Laura Overdeck, Jewish Communal Fund, The Ena Zucchi Charitable Trust, FannieMae Foundation, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program, and Village Veterinary Hospital

  24. (1) Carter BP. 2008. Technology, Society and Change; Shell artifact production among the Manteño (A.D. 800-1532) of Coastal Ecuador [dissertation]. [St. Louis (MO)]: Washington University in St. Louis. • (2) Francis PD. 1989. The manufacture of beads from shell. In: Proceedings of the 1986 Shell Bead Conferences: Selected Papers; 1986. Rochester (NY): Rochester Museum and Science Center. • (3) Masucci MA. 1995. Marine shell production and the role of domestic craft activities in the economy of the Guangala Phase, southwest Ecuador. Latin American Antiquity 6(1):70-84. • (4) Stothert KE. 2001. Manteño. In: Enber M, Peregrine P, editors. Encyclopedia of Prehistory, Vol. 5: Middle America. (NY): Kluwer. p.303-309. • (5) Macfarlane A, Masucci MA. 1997. An application of the geological survey and ceramic petrography to provenance studies of Guangala Phase ceramics of ancient Ecuador. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 12(7):765-793. • (6) McGuire JD. 1896. A study of the primitive methods of drilling. Washington (D.C.): Smithsonian Institution. p. 657-673.Leary JJ, Skoog D. 1992. Principles of Instrumental Analysis. 4th ed. (NY): Harcourt Brace. • (7) Forest Products Laboratory. 1999. Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material. Madison (WI): U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. General Technical Report No. FPL–GTR–113. • (8) Examix NDS Vinyl Polysiloxane Impression Material. [Internet]. Alsip (IL): GC America; [cited 2009 Jul 27]. Available from: http://www.gcamerica.com/gcxmixnd.html. • (9) Leary JJ, Skoog D. 1992. Principles of Instrumental Analysis. 4th ed. (NY): Harcourt Brace.

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