Golden Glass Beads in New Spain and Local Productions

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Glass Beads: Global Artefacts, Local Perspectives", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

This paper focuses on the analysis of a thype of golden glass beads that has been recovered in different archaeological excavations carried out by INAH in Mexico City, to question two widely held ideas about these objects in New Spain. First, it focuses on the contexts in which they have appeared to challenge the idea that their use was reserved for the native or African origin population. Secondly, it combines archaeological data with historical sources to highlight that the viceroyalty developed a specialty of glassmaking dedicated to the manufacture of small objects, such as beads, which began in the 16th century and was consolidated in the 18th century with the development of a particular glass beads production.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Glass Beads: Global Artefacts, Local Perspectives   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow