1. Unpacking the Bead: Exploring a Glass Bead Assemblage from Mission Santa Cruz, California, Using LA–ICP–MS
- Author
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Danielle L. Dadiego, Alyssa Gelinas, and Tsim D. Schneider
- Subjects
010506 paleontology ,Archeology ,History ,Chemical research ,060102 archaeology ,Museology ,Adobe ,06 humanities and the arts ,Bead ,engineering.material ,01 natural sciences ,Archaeology ,Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) ,La icp ms ,visual_art ,visual_art.visual_art_medium ,engineering ,Assemblage (archaeology) ,0601 history and archaeology ,Geology ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Abstract
This report focuses on the morphometric and elemental analysis of glass beads collected from an adobe structure (CA-SCR-217H-T) at Mission Santa Cruz, which operated between 1791 and the 1830s in the colonial province of Alta (upper) California. Previous chemical research established a chronological framework for opacified beads collected from sites in Canada, the Great Lakes region, and the southeastern United States. Testing the viability of this chronological framework for California, we analyzed 100 white glass beads using a conventional typology and laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS)—the first application of LA-ICP-MS to a California mission. We present the results of the LA-ICP-MS study and then briefly comment on the potential for LA-ICP-MS to refine chronologies associated with colonial missions and other postcontact sites.
- Published
- 2021