The Beginning . . .

 

http://jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk/about-jorvik/gallery/

 
This blog will follow four Anthropology students (Angela, Emma, Krista and Rose) as we experiment on Viking Age glass beads for our Archaeology class, Anth 398: Life and Death in the Viking World.

This project will focus on researching Viking Age glass bead technology and methods, then going out and making our own glass beads. 

http://www.historyextra.com/vikings 

Glass beads served a variety of purposes including ornamental, trade, display of status, and possibly even as currency (Carlsson, 1997; Tvauri, 2012, pp. 148-149). Glass beads were labour intensive to make, and the materials were almost exclusively imported, making them an expensive item. 



Viking craftsmen imported glass rods, or used glass shards from items that broke during transport, to form beads in clay furnaces. Evidence for glass beads can be found in the form of glass beads in various stages of manufacture, finished bead jewellery, and raw material (glass rods and shards) ( Graham-Campbell, 1980, p. 102; Jensen, 1991, p.37). 

http://www.kaupang.uio.no/gamle-sider/dokumenter/aarsb_2000/kap3_III.htm

Glass beads are commonly found in graves, and in fact beads are one of the most common items found in pre-Christian Viking Age graves. There have also been workshops excavated, for example in HelgÖ and Ribe (Dubin, 1987, p. 37).

As part of our project, we have come up with three research questions that we will attempt to answer through research and experimentation. 

Our three questions are:

1. What techniques and materials were used throughout the Viking Age in the production of glass beads? And, in what ways do modern bead production techniques and materials reflect and/or differ?
2. How much effort is used in the manufacture of different beads (ranging from simple to elaborate in design and shape)?
3. What degree of manual dexterity is required to make beads? Can just anyone do it, or would you be required to have relatively good health?

We plan to conduct our first glass bead making session on Saturday October 19, 2013 at a local glass workshop. Will will update this blog after with the results of our experimentation. 

http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/vikbeads.shtml

Bibliography

CARLSSON, D. 1997, Viking Beads from Gotland, Sweden. Scribd. Available: http://www.scribd.com/doc/8493824/VikingBeads [Oct 6, 2013].

DUBIN, L. S., 1987. The History of Beads, from 30,000 B.C. to the present. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

GRAHAM-CAMPBELL, J., 1980. The Viking World. New Haven, NY:  Ticknor & Fields.

JENSEN, S. 1991. The Vikings of Ribe. Ribe: Den antikvariske Samling.

TVAURI, A., 2012. Handicrafts and Early Industry. In: TVAURI, A., The Migration Period, Pre-Viking Age, and Viking Age in Estonia. Estonia: Tartu University Press, pp. 113-218.  


-Angela, Emma, Krista, & Rose