Revisiting Baranda: a multi-analytical approach in classifying sixteenth/seventeenth-century glass beads from northern Zimbabwe

Koleini, Farahnaz; Pikirayi, Innocent; Colomban, Philippe

doi:10.15184/aqy.2017.46

Cited by 21 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…However, on morphological grounds b1 is larger than b2 and in general K-IP beads tend to be larger than EC-IP beads. Also b1 contains higher calcium and lower potassium levels indicative of the K-IP series [25]. These two factors reclassify b1 as K-IP and b2 as EC-IP.…”

Section: Beads Classified As Indo-pacific Beads (Fig 5)mentioning

confidence: 98%

Unravelling the glass trade bead sequence from Magoro Hill, South Africa: separating pre-seventeenth-century Asian imports from later European counterparts

et al. 2016

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Excavations conducted between 2010 and 2012 at Magoro Hill, a site in South Africa's Limpopo Province frequented or intermittently occupied by African farming communities since the first millennium AD, yielded a substantial glass bead assemblage. A selection of the beads was studied non-destructively by classifying them according to morphological attributes, supplemented by Raman analyses and XRF measurements. It became evident that a morphological classification of beads recovered from sites that include imports into Africa after the seventeenth century AD could be problematic due to apparent morphological similarities between earlier and later beads. This paper demonstrates the use and archaeological application of Raman and XRF measurements to separate earlier imported beads from later counterparts by identifying glass nanostructure, as well as pigments and opacifiers, which were not used in bead series pre-dating the seventeenth century AD. Results obtained from Raman and XRF measurements indicate that although some beads retrieved from Magoro Hill pre-date the seventeenth century and belong to the Indo-Pacific (K2, East Coast, Khami) and Zimbabwe series, the largest number of beads is from a later European origin. This ties in with the settlement history of the site, which suggests that it primarily served as a rendezvous for episodic rainmaking rituals before it became the stronghold and capital of a Venda chiefdom, headed by the Magoro dynasty, in the second half of the eighteenth century AD. The comparative analysis of the long bead sequence sheds new light on changing patterns in the availability, range, consumption and origin of glass trade beads imported into the northern interior of South Africa over a period of about 1000 years.

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Section: Beads Classified As Indo-pacific Beads (Fig 5)mentioning

confidence: 98%

Unravelling the glass trade bead sequence from Magoro Hill, South Africa: separating pre-seventeenth-century Asian imports from later European counterparts

et al. 2016

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“…A ternary plot of the CaO, Al 2 O 3 and MgO + K 2 O concentrations in the glass beads from different sites in southern Africa that were analysed by pXRF (Koleini et al . ,b; ). Groups 1–4 are indicated.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…; Koleini et al . ,b, ,b). The results of the XRF and Raman measurements can be summarized as follows: The first group is a mineral soda glass with high alumina (>7.9 wt%) and low magnesia (<1 wt%).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies of glass beads conducted with the aid of a combination of pXRF and Raman spectroscopy have demonstrated the efficiency of these mobile techniques in defining the chronological sequences of traded glass bead series in southern Africa (Koleini et al . ,b; ,b). Following the method reported in Koleini et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The results are then compared to archaeological sites elsewhere in Zimbabwe (Baranda), Botswana (Basinghal Farm) and South Africa (Magoro Hill) where similar bead series have been recovered (Koleini et al . ,b, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Chronology of Insiza Cluster Khami‐Phase Sites in South‐Western Zimbabwe: Compositional Insights from pXRF and Raman Analysis of Excavated Exotic Glass Finds

et al. 2019

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Fourteen glass beads and one glass fragment from Khami-period (AD 1400-1830) sites of Danamombe, Naletale, Gomoremhiko, Nharire and Zinjanja, in Zimbabwe, were analysed by pXRF and Raman spectroscopy with the intention of correlating the results with associated radiocarbon dates. The results show that Zinjanja and an earlier part of the Danamombe stratigraphic context had Khami Indo-Pacific beads (15th-17th centuries) corresponding with Torwa occupational layers. Other European beads and one bottle fragment [high-lime, lowalkali (HLLA) glass] dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries were confined to the top stratigraphic layers of Danamombe and Naletale, which coincide with the later Rozvi occupational layers. Gomoremhiko had one Mapungubwe-Zimbabwe bead series (13th-15th centuries), which suggests that it was probably earlier than the other sites. All European beads are made of soda-lime plant-ash glass with high alumina, which makes them comparable with glass produced through the Mediterranean traditions in Southern Europe.

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Studying glass on metal: Raman analysis of medieval champlevé enamelled objects

Röhrs

Fenoglio

Reiche

et al. 2020

J Raman Spectroscopy

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Medieval champlevé enamelled objects are from copper sheets decorated with glass. The enamels were analysed by Raman spectroscopy to study the compositional differences in the glass matrix. Additional analyses were carried out by element analytical methods such as μ‐X‐ray fluorescence analysis and environmental scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X‐ray analysis. The two most frequently used glass types are mineral soda lime glass opacified with antimony compounds and vegetal soda lime glass with a more significant addition of PbO, opacified with SnO2. The enamel composition can succour the classification of the object regarding production time and place.The wavenumber of the bending and stretching regions, δmax and υmax, and the polymerization index Ip were extracted from Raman spectra, and results were interpreted with respect to the so‐called glass families from the literature. The two most frequently used glass types can be distinguished in the plot of Ip versus υmax. For further differentiation, the Si‐O stretching υmax against Si‐O bending δmax plot was exploited. This plot allowed a separation of glass types which superimposed in the plot of Ip versus υmax, such as mixed alkaline glass and soda lime glass with added PbO. The small spot size and sensitivity of Raman analysis for lead and alkaline components allow obtaining complimentary data on compositional differences and heterogeneities of the glass matrix, which are difficult to detect by common laboratory micro‐X‐ray fluorescence analysis.

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Revisiting Baranda: a multi-analytical approach in classifying sixteenth/seventeenth-century glass beads from northern Zimbabwe

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 21 publications

References 28 publications

Unravelling the glass trade bead sequence from Magoro Hill, South Africa: separating pre-seventeenth-century Asian imports from later European counterparts

Unravelling the glass trade bead sequence from Magoro Hill, South Africa: separating pre-seventeenth-century Asian imports from later European counterparts

The Chronology of Insiza Cluster Khami‐Phase Sites in South‐Western Zimbabwe: Compositional Insights from pXRF and Raman Analysis of Excavated Exotic Glass Finds

Studying glass on metal: Raman analysis of medieval champlevé enamelled objects

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