Glitter in the Dirt: Using Mardi Gras Beads to Document Modern Plastic Pollution
Author(s): Kimberly Wooten
Year: 2025
Summary
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Critical Issues in Contemporary Archaeology & Historical Archaeology: Limits, Opportunities, Challenges", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.
This presentation looks at Mardi Gras beads as a representative “artifact” to demonstrate the ways in which historical archaeological methods can be used to document contemporary environmental issues, with a focus towards plastic pollution. An overview of the history and archaeology of Mardi Gras beads will be presented, along with a broader discussion of the ways contemporary archaeology approaches litter. The overall goal is to provide tools and techniques that can be applied to modern litter, especially single-use plastics, and other environmental issues in your own communities and classrooms.
Cite this Record
Glitter in the Dirt: Using Mardi Gras Beads to Document Modern Plastic Pollution. Kimberly Wooten. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, New Orleans, Louisiana. 2025 ( tDAR id: 508871)
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Keywords
Geographic Keywords
United States
Spatial Coverage
min long: -178.217; min lat: 18.925 ; max long: 179.769; max lat: 71.351 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Nicole Haddow