PA3637 Glass Beads

48PA3637 is the southwestern most cluster in this group of four assemblages of beads

The location of this artifact cluster had been part of a systematic inventory in 2003 when only a single large artifact was recorded. After a 2006 wildland fire, a total of 220 artifacts including 16 glass beads were recorded. When the area was redocumented in 2020, surface vegetation was re-established and no artifacts could be relocated during an intensive examination. The lack of white-heart beads suggests the Contact Period occupation may have taken place before 1840 (Billeck 2008).

The artifact cluster provides an excellent example of how surface visibility changes after a fire and subsequent vegetation regrowth.

Bead Photos

References Cited

Billeck, W.T. (2008). Red-on-White drawn or Cornelian Beads: A 19th-Century Temporal Marker for the Plains. Beads 20:49-61.