Of glass, stone, shell, and metal: Ecologies of beads in medieval and post-medieval West Africa

Beads of all kinds are essential objects of prestige, power, trade, and aesthetics in West Africa across time periods. This article discusses the ecologies of beads in medieval and postmedieval west Africa by interrogating the complex relationships between the environment and the craftspeople. With a focus on archaeological records from across the region, we highlight the various types of beads, their manufacturing techniques, and their sources and acquisition of raw materials. We argue that beads are not only objects of personal adornment encoded in meaning and symbolism or exotica but also exemplify complex human engagement with the natural environment – from the geological components (silicious materials and stones), marine resources (Oyster and Cowry), gastropod mollusk (land snail) to reptiles (turtles and birds – Ostrich). Arnold’s ‘ecological approach to craft production’ and Ingold’s notion of ‘making as a correspondence' allow us to discuss the ‘process of making’ beads and the entanglement of nature and culture in medieval and postmedieval West Africa.