Another kind of beads: A forgotten industry of the North American colonial period

This dissertation bears on a minor chapter in the colonial history of northeastern North America. My identification of 39 forms of marine shell ornaments as a unified industry foregrounds the presence of these products across 127 Historic Period archaeological sites in 18 states. I have designated this industry "Standardized Marine Shell" (hereafter SMS). Known almost entirely from archaeological specimens, the significance of these ornaments has proved approachable only through amassing a large analyzable inventory. When SMS is seen as a distinct product from both wampum and Native-modified marine shell ornaments, it can be perceived as a previously undefined industry spanning circa 1635-1710 A.D. The robust and varied SMS industry subsequently gives way to smaller and simpler shell ornament industries continuing into the late 19th century.;After an initial assessment of the colonial setting and characteristics of SMS production, I explore an inventory of 4845 ornaments, verifying this as a bounded industry and clarifying that the primary recipients of these standardized ornaments are the central figures in the 17th century Dutch fur trade network, as represented by 127 archaeological sites. I develop a statistical representation of SMS chronological affiliations that I term "span factored annual percentages" (SFAP) which graph each form's history, cumulatively illustrating SMS as a commodity. The image that emerges is of a small-scale production and distribution strategy initiated by early settlers in the nascent New Netherland colony.