Abstract

LEONARDT, Sabrina. Technomorphological analysis of shell beads from North Paragonia: Juan Bautista Ambrosetti Etnographic Museum Collection. Zaranda ideas [online]. 2016, vol.14, n.1, pp.9-24. ISSN 1853-1296.

In this paper the results of techno-morphological analysis of shell beads from Northern Patagonia, stored in J. B. Ambrosetti Ethnographic Museum, are presented. It is a set of 42 shell beads from the north coast of San Matías Gulf (Río Negro Province), one from the Pilcaniyeu area (Río Negro Province), and a fragment of leather with shell beads sewed on it recovered nearby Sierra Cuadrada (Chubut Province). The operational chains involved in their production are proposed. We also discussed the implications of different metrics variables (shell bead diameter, thickness and perforation size diameter) to assess standardization. It is proposed that while shape and diameter of shell beads depend on the choice of artisan, the thickness, and perforation size would be determined mainly by the characteristics of the raw material (mainly thickness of the shells), and by the technique and instrument used, respectively.

Keywords : Shell beads; Manufacture; Standardization; Patagonia; Late Holocene.

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