Shell, Bone, and Glass Seed Beads

Shell, Bone, and Glass Seed Beads

Artifacts

These artifacts come from an Early Historic period site in Roanoke County in the Blue Ridge region of west-central Virginia. They include shell, bone, and glass “seed” beads and a larger bone disk bead. Glass beads were introduced by Europeans into Native American exchange systems, which have placed value on beads since the Late Archaic period and possibly earlier. Virginia Indians used trade goods to navigate relationships with colonists during the early seventeenth century. (Photo enhanced)

Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Richmond, VA

1600 - 1700 C.E.

.JPG, 532 × 773

Image

Roanoke County

Photograph

532 × 773