I am no expert by a long shot.  It's not even my field really, but could it
be just a locally produced stone button instead of a bead?

-----Original Message-----
From: Mancini, Jason R [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, August 11, 2000 3:19 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject:


We recently excavated a stone (steatite) bead from a mid-late 18th century
domestic site near the border of the historic Mashantucket Pequot
Reservation in Connecticut.  The bead is about 1.5 cm long, .75 cm wide,
thick in the middle and tapered at the ends.  Both the horizontal and
vertical axes are bi-conically drilled through their respective center
points.

Neither I, nor any of my peers have come across a bead like this in our
research.  At this point, I am hesitant to classify this bead as Native
American.  [The location and nature of the site combined with the almost
exclusive European artifact assemblage make it difficult to determine
cultural affiliation].  With this in mind, I would like to explore other
possibilities with this seemingly anomalous bead...

Is anyone familiar with European, African, African-American or Carribbean
stone bead traditions? Do these traditions involve bi-conical drilling? I am
very interested in any input list members may have.  I am including a JPG
image for interested individuals.

Thanks,
Jason

 <<Stonebeada.JPG>>

Jason R. Mancini, Staff Archaeologist
Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center
110 Pequot Trail, Mashantucket, CT 06339-3180
tel. 860.396.6802  fax  860.396.6914
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