Figure 1: Faceted blue cobalt glass beads (Photo courtesy of the NYC Archaeological Repository).
Blue Beads: A Means of Preservation for Individuality and Cultural Ideas
Charlotte Weinstein
The history of blue cobalt glass beads can be explored to shed light on the ways in which African-Americans in Seneca Village may have represented their individuality, their heritage, and their identity. These beads were excavated from the Wilson family house at Seneca Village, and they were used for adornment. This essay explores the possible cultural and historical influences behind these beads, both from West Africa, where the production of such beads originated, and the ways in which they were traded, bought, sold, and used. Yet these beads are as much about the ways in which the African-American people of Seneca Village cultivated their own unique culture from both their African heritage, which is represented in the history of the beads, and their own ideas and lifestyles. These beads create a visual representation of self through adorning the body, and they may symbolize a possible duality between Seneca Village African-Americans’ West African heritage and the uniqueness of their own new lifestyles, ideas, and the culture they developed.Â