Abstract
Using a variety of spectroscopic methods, elemental compositions and coloring agents in recycled translucent red glass beads and red powdered glass beads from the Eastern Region of Ghana were investigated. The evolution of bead-making in Ghana was evaluated from an ethnochemical perspective by interviewing a series of experts, examining and collecting glass materials, and recording the conditions under which the beads were produced. The origin of bead-making in Ghana was traced to the Yoruba peoples of Western Nigeria. Combination of spectroscopic methods allowed for extensive qualitative and some quantitative analysis of the network formers, modifiers, and colorants used in red glass beads from Ghana while avoiding the use of HF. Red glass beads and dye from Ghana were found to contain quantifiable amounts of cadmium. The beads were composed of soda-lime silica glass wherein a portion of the Ca modifiers were replaced with Zn, correlating with procedures for the industrial fabrication of red glass. The structure of the beads and efficacy of metal extraction were found to be dependent on surface area interactions between particles during firing and digestion processes.
How to Cite
McCarn, E. V., (2015) “An Ethnochemical Analysis: Red Glass Beads from the Eastern Region of Ghana”, Capstone, The UNC Asheville Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship 28(1).
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