BLACKBEARD’S BEADS: IDENTIFICATION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE BEADS RECOVERED FROM THE SHIPWRECK 31CR314 QUEEN ANNE’S REVENGE by Kimberly A. Urban December 2017 Director of Thesis: Charles R. Ewen, PhD Major Department: Anthropology Glass trade beads are one of the most notable artifacts of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and played an important role in African culture spiritually, metaphysically, and historically. Since its discovery in 1996, 798 glass beads have been recovered from the Queen Anne’s Revenge Shipwreck. This thesis seeks to identify the beads recovered from the Queen Anne’s Revenge shipwreck and interpret their relationship to the ship and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The thesis opens with the history of the slave trade, specifically the role of the French, as well as an historical overview of Blackbeard, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, and of bead manufacture. Following the archaeology and recovery of the shipwreck along with its conservation program and previous research conducted on the Queen Anne’s Revenge bead assemblage is discussed. Other contemporaneous archaeological sites, both terrestrial and maritime, are presented to compare the Queen Anne’s Revenge bead assemblage to other sites. This research is designed to provide data on the types of beads recovered from the Queen Anne’s Revenge shipwreck for both conservators at the Queen Anne’s Revenge Conservation Laboratory and future archaeologists. This research provides insight into the ship’s former role as a slaver and addresses the ship’s link between Africa and the slave trade. BLACKBEARD’S BEADS: IDENTIFICATION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE BEADS RECOVERED FROM THE SHIPWRECK 31CR314 QUEEN ANNE’S REVENGE A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Department of Anthropology East Carolina University In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Masters of Arts in Anthropology by Kimberly A. Urban December 2017 © Kimberly A. Urban, 2017 BLACKBEARD’S BEADS: IDENTIFICATION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE BEADS RECOVERED FROM THE SHIPWRECK 31CR314 QUEEN ANNE’S REVENGE by Kimberly A. Urban APPROVED BY: DIRECTOR OF THESIS: Charles R. Ewen, PhD COMMITTEE MEMBER: I. Randolph Daniel Jr., PhD COMMITTEE MEMBER: Benjamin A. Saidel, PhD COMMITTEE MEMBER: Lynn B. Harris, PhD CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY: I. Randolph Daniel Jr., PhD DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL: Paul J. Gemperline, PhD ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor and director of thesis, Dr. Charles Ewen for his continued support, advice, and patience during my thesis research and writing as well as for the opportunities I was provided as a student, particularly my assistantship with the Queen Anne’s Revenge Conservation Laboratory and my teaching assistantship with East Carolina University’s Summer Ventures in Science and Mathematics program. I also want to thank my committee members, Dr. Randolph Daniel Jr., Dr. Benjamin Saidel, and Dr. Lynn Harris for their feedback and advice throughout my research and writing process. I have overwhelming gratitude to the employees of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Office of State Archaeology’s Queen Anne’s Revenge Conservation Laboratory (QAR Lab), including Sarah Watkins-Kenney, Kimberly Kenyon, Erik Farrell, Courtney Page, Elise Carroll, Terry Williams, Stephen Atkinson, Jeremy Borrelli, Karen Martindale, Arianna DiMucci, and Tim Smith for fielding my questions, ideas, discussions, and frustraions. I am grateful for the training and experience they have provided me that has allowed me to gain invaluable experience for my career. Additionally, I thank the Laboratory as well as the North Carolina Maritime Museum Beaufort for providing me the opportunity, space, and tools to examine the Queen Anne’s Revenge bead assemblage. I also want to acknowledge Dr. Linda Carnes-McNaughton and Susan G. Meyers for their guidance and previous bead research which provided the foundation for this project. I would like to thank my Anthropology cohort for being an outlet for my thoughts and frustrations while also making my graduate school experience enjoyable. Most of all, I would like to thank my parents, siblings, and boyfriend whose endless support for my wellbeing, education, and success, has meant more than I could ever express. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................. viii LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................. ix CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 Contents .................................................................................................................................. 3 CHAPTER TWO – HISTORICAL BACKGROUND .............................................................. 5 Transatlantic Slave Trade ....................................................................................................... 5 France in the Eighteenth Century ........................................................................................... 6 Piracy and the Slave Trade ..................................................................................................... 8 Blackbeard ............................................................................................................................ 10 Queen Anne’s Revenge ......................................................................................................... 13 Glass Trade Beads................................................................................................................. 15 CHAPTER THREE – ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND ........................................... 20 Discovery and Excavation .................................................................................................... 20 Conservation ......................................................................................................................... 23 CHAPTER FOUR – BEAD ASSEMBLAGES FROM OTHER RELEVANT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES ................................................................................................. 30 Henrietta Marie .................................................................................................................... 30 Elmina Shipwreck ................................................................................................................. 31 Elmina, Ghana....................................................................................................................... 33 Newton Cemetery ................................................................................................................. 34 New York African Burial Ground ........................................................................................ 35 House for Families, George Washington’s Mount Vernon .................................................. 37 CHAPTER FIVE – METHODS .............................................................................................. 39 Previous Research ................................................................................................................. 39 Data Acquisition ................................................................................................................... 44 Analysis................................................................................................................................. 45 Artifact Distribution Analysis ............................................................................................... 46 CHAPTER SIX – RESULTS................................................................................................... 48 Bead Identifiaction and Classification .................................................................................. 48 Color ..................................................................................................................................... 55 Comparative Analysis ........................................................................................................... 56 Bead Distribution Analysis ................................................................................................... 58 CHAPTER SEVEN – DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ................................................. 61 Identification ......................................................................................................................... 61 Comparison of Bead Assemblages ....................................................................................... 63 Artifact Distribition Analysis ................................................................................................ 64 Interpretations ....................................................................................................................... 65 Significance........................................................................................................................... 65 Recommendations for Future Work...................................................................................... 66 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 67 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................