2.1.2 Circular Navy Blue Beads

Often present in early 17^th-century assemblages, circular navy blue beads (Kidd IIa56) are characteristic of initial European/indigenous trade in the Middle Atlantic region and adjacent areas (cf., Bradley 1977; Eastman 2000; Fitzgerald et al. 1995; Huey 1983; Kent 1983; Kenyon and Fitzgerald 1986; Lapham 1995; Miller et al. 1983; Rumrill 1991; Sempowski 1994; Smith 1983; Turgeon 2000). Fifty-two of these were found together in one layer of Pit 1, apparently strung together when initially deposited. The circular navy blue beads in Jamestown's collection are remarkably tiny. Over 50% were classed as very small (less than 2.0 mm). Those measured averaged 1.1 mm in length and 2.0 mm in diameter, dimensions equivalent to the size of a pinhead. Most of these beads would have been lost had the excavators relied solely on 1/4"-mesh screens, instead of the 1/8"- and 1/16"- hardware cloth that they used for sealed contexts. The dearth of very small circular navy blue beads from other early historic sites might have resulted from less precise recovery strategies.