15th century carnelian bead cargo of the Indian Ocean World: a conversation starter on collections-based research in the Asia-Pacific
Dublin Core
Title
15th century carnelian bead cargo of the Indian Ocean World: a conversation starter on collections-based research in the Asia-Pacific
Description
The topic of this abstract fits best within the Collections-based Research Session because existing museum
collections of carnelian beads from two archaeological shipwreck sites were analyzed. The sites include different
ship constructions located at the far ends, to the north and south, of the Philippines; and they carried comparable
artefacts. Both the Pandanan (1460-1487 CE) and Santa Cruz (1488-1505 CE) shipwrecks carried cargoes of
similar ceramics (i.e. Chinese Jingdezhen and Thai Maenam Noi) and black glass beads (i.e. west India soda
alumina); yet these sites also carried dissimilar cargo in both the ceramics and glass beads. Both sites also carried
disproportionate carnelian beads. The resources to conduct the work to study carnelian are the morphological
analysis of measurement and descriptors, technological analysis of SEM and compositional analysis of LA-ICPMS. My research questions ask what geographic patterns these analyses indicate of the carnelian beads: What is
the source of the carnelian? Where were the bead workshops? What sailing routes did the carnelian move over to
ultimately shipwreck off the Philippines? The expected results are that riverine systems that connected interior
Indian carnelian were used to move raw material to west India bead workshops, via the Indian Ocean, Bay of
Bengal into the Straits of Malacca to Southeast Asian entrepôt.
collections of carnelian beads from two archaeological shipwreck sites were analyzed. The sites include different
ship constructions located at the far ends, to the north and south, of the Philippines; and they carried comparable
artefacts. Both the Pandanan (1460-1487 CE) and Santa Cruz (1488-1505 CE) shipwrecks carried cargoes of
similar ceramics (i.e. Chinese Jingdezhen and Thai Maenam Noi) and black glass beads (i.e. west India soda
alumina); yet these sites also carried dissimilar cargo in both the ceramics and glass beads. Both sites also carried
disproportionate carnelian beads. The resources to conduct the work to study carnelian are the morphological
analysis of measurement and descriptors, technological analysis of SEM and compositional analysis of LA-ICPMS. My research questions ask what geographic patterns these analyses indicate of the carnelian beads: What is
the source of the carnelian? Where were the bead workshops? What sailing routes did the carnelian move over to
ultimately shipwreck off the Philippines? The expected results are that riverine systems that connected interior
Indian carnelian were used to move raw material to west India bead workshops, via the Indian Ocean, Bay of
Bengal into the Straits of Malacca to Southeast Asian entrepôt.
Creator
Jennifer Craig
Publisher
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
Date
2023
Language
English
Bibliographic Citation
Craig, Jennifer. 2023. “15th century carnelian bead cargo of the Indian Ocean World.” Edited by Jennifer Craig, Jay Mok, T. Kurt Knoerl, and Michelle Damian. Proceedings of Fifth Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage: Gwangju, The Republic of Korea, November 13-18 2023. The Museum of Underwater Archaeology. URL:https://apconf.omeka.net/exhibits/show/apconfproceedings/item/1918
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Collection
Citation
Jennifer Craig, “15th century carnelian bead cargo of the Indian Ocean World: a conversation starter on collections-based research in the Asia-Pacific,” Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage Proceedings, accessed September 16, 2026, https://apconf.omeka.net/items/show/1918.