Taphonomical and chronological studies of a concentration of European glass trade beads from Ashuapmushuan, Central Quebec (Canada)
Abstract
As early as the sixteenth century, glass beads were among the several categories of goods brought from Europe to be traded to Northeastern North American Indians. Attempts to set up a chronological framework on the basis of the chemistry of these beads has been recently enhanced by the application of neutron activation analysis of turquoise blue glass beads from many sites in Southwestern Ontario and Central Quebec. Subsequently, in the Quebec site of Ashuapmushuan was found a collection of 515 beads excavated from a very restricted area, indicating that they pertain to a single depositional event. This suggestion is tested through taphonomical studies , in particular on the basis of the spatial distributions of the beads. Chronological placement is also assessed on the basis of neutron activation of 122 turquoise blue glass beads. These taphonomical and chronological observations lead to some challenging cultural interpretations.
