Coca Cola Bottles From Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Kwajalein Atoll has acted as an American military base since 1944. One of the most prevalent American artifacts found in this region are Coca-Cola bottles. Coke bottles have been researched extensively, but this paper specifically discusses bottles found on Kwajalein Atoll. We looked at 493 Coca-Cola bottles, excavated from the islands of Kwajalein, Roi-Namur, and sites in the lagoon in close proximity to these two islands. These bottles were evaluated for color, date stamp, glass manufacturer, body markings as well as base markings. This paper explores, in detail, the variation of markings on bottles from the different sites, and attempts to offer possible explanations that account for these variations.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SHA 2023 General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow