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Reconsidering the Precolumbian Presence of Venetian Glass Beads in Alaska

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2021

Elliot H. Blair Open the ORCID record for Elliot H. Blair [Opens in a new window]
Elliot H. Blair*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Alabama, Box 870210, Tuscaloosa, AL35487, USA
*
(ehblair@ua.edu, corresponding author)
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Abstract

In a recent article, Kunz and Mills (2021) report 10 drawn, a speo finished, turquoise blue, IIa40 beads manufactured in Venice and recovered from three late precontact sites in the Alaskan Arctic. They argue that these beads date to the fifteenth century, predating Columbus's arrival in the Americas. This conclusion is certainly in error because beads of this type were not manufactured prior to approximately AD 1560. The historical and archaeological evidence for this dating is substantial. Additionally, the elemental and radiocarbon evidence presented by Kunz and Mills (2021) supports a late sixteenth- to early seventeenth-century date for these beads.

En un artículo reciente, Kunz y Mills (2021) reportan 10 cuentas trazadas azules turquesa, de acabado a speo y tipo IIa40, fabricadas en Venecia y recuperados en tres sitios del pre-contacto tardío en el Ártico de Alaska. Argumentan que estas cuentas datan del siglo XV, previo a la llegada de Colón a las Américas. Esta conclusión es ciertamente errónea ya que las cuentas de este tipo no se fabricaron antes de aproximadamente el año 1560 d.C. La evidencia histórica y arqueológica de esta datación es sustancial. Además, la evidencia elemental y de radiocarbono presentada por Kunz y Mills (2021) respalda una fecha de finales del siglo XVI a principios del XVII para estas cuentas.

Keywords

AlaskaVeniceglass beadsradiocarbonchronologyinstrumental neutron activation analysisAlaskaVeneciacuentas de vidrioradiocarbonocronologíaanálisis poractivación neutrónica
Type
Comment
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 86 , Issue 3 , July 2021 , pp. 638 - 642
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Society for American Archaeology

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References

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