Glass Beads in Ancient India: An Ethnoarchaeological Approach

Glass-making and the production of beads was a small-scale industry in India originating some time in the first millennium BC. Although evidence from 212 ancient sites, 36 of which are claimed to be manufacturing sites, provides some insight into the context and date of the industry, issues to do with manufacturing methods, function and symbolic value seem only to be accessible through ethnographic evidence. This study combines both archaeologucal and ethnographic data, as well as literary evidence, to create a history of the glass bead industry in India. The author looks in detail at reports and records created by the British government in the late 19th century relating to the glass industry.