In 1949 Clement Meighan began compiling a type collection of glass trade beads in California at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley--his monograph documenting this collection was never published. This volume is an updated and annotated version of Meighan's original manuscript, including a complete reanalysis of the entire type collection. Updated to be consistent with contemporary scholarly standards for bead analysis, this volume documents and describes the global circulation of glass trade beads into California, from early contact through the early 20th century. Documenting more than 400 glass bead varieties, this is the only treatment of archaeologically recovered glass trade beads in California with substantial regional and temporal breadth. This volume is an essential resource for historical archaeologists interested in the global bead trade from ca. AD 1600-1900.

AUTHOR

Clement W. Meighan† was Professor Emeritus at UCLA and one of the foremost experts in California archaeology. Elliot H. Blair is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Alabama and the current president of the Society of Bead Researchers.

REVIEW

‘This is an extremely important work, both from an historical perspective (it is a classic of early glass bead research) and for the data it provides which will be of use to many researchers. The insights that Meighan’s years of research bring to the subject and the updates by Blair will make this a valuable resource. I have studied glass beads for over fifty years and I learned new information as I read through this volume.’ Professor Marvin T. Smith, Valdosta State University