What are "pipestone" and "dug" beads?

[oldbeader]

Why do you call the shiny pipestone "Nigerian"? I searched the web on that name and yours is the only site that shows up. Where did you come up with that name?

[oldbeader]

So the white coating on dug up beads is glass or maybe silicon dioxide without the other chemicals that make up the glass? It doesn't mean that they were burned in a funeral pyre, just that they were buried in the ground?

Does the amount of "weathering" have to do with the length of time in the ground? Is it related to the moisture in the ground? Does it happen in dry soil too?

[Russ Nobbs]

We had an e-mail from a customer "wondering if you had a bit more information about the pipestone beads and the 'dug' beads in the natural materials section of the trade bead page. What is pipestone exactly?"

She was looking at the pictures on http://www.rings-things.com/SUPPLIES/BEADS/TRADE/NATURAL.HTM

I thought others might be interested in our answer:

Pipestone is Bauxite (an aluminum ore) from Ghana and has been used for beads since prehistoric times. It is dug near the Akosombo Dam in Ghana. In North America a pipestone called Catlinite from Minnesota and Montana is used by several Native American groups for making the heads of ceremonial pipes, hence the name "pipestone."

If you look at the holes in many of the pipestone beads you can see an indication that they are hand drilled (or bow-drilled.) Particularly on the larger beads the hole on one side is larger than the other side. The hole is conical.

Rings & Things also carries a shiny pipestone bead that is commonly called Nigerian Pipestone. Reading the bead literature suggests that the source for all African pipestone beads is Ghana. The Nigerian name may be yet another inaccurate bead name for a shinier pipestone bead or it may be an older bead that was collected in Nigeria but originally came from Ghana.

"Dug beads" are the dirty linen of the trade bead business. They are dug up, usually from burial sites, typically in Mali.

They are shown on our website in a picture with stone beads but they are mostly glass beads. Originally blue, white, green or striped,  they have a white or grey matte finish from oxidation or decay of the glass. The  patina is typical of old beads that have been buried. From an archeological viewpoint they are without merit because any historical information is lost when they are removed without documentation by grave robbers. The researchers want to dig down, layer by layer, recording everything that is found at each layer so it can be dated together.

I'm told there are burial sites in Mali that are treacherous because of tunnels and loose dug pits that cave in.  I'm also told that there are areas where beads are picked out of freshly tilled farm land though I fear this may be a story to assuage the guilt of people buying "dug" beads.

We have mixed feelings about these beads for reasons mentioned.  We don't buy them very often although we do currently have a few strands for sale.

[Russ Nobbs]

Hi again, oldbeader!

You always ask interesting questions.  I think the name came from a Gambian trader. I assumed it was a correct place where the beads were collected or made. I suspect it is MISinformation. I'll start asking traders and on some of the bead forums. I'll let you know what I learn.

On the related subject of "Dug beads".....  In a posting on BeadsL, Gretchen Dunn quoted a response "from the Corning Museum of Glass' Rakow Library. on my query about glass crud." They described the patina on beads like "dug beads" as "weathering." Here's teh exact wording:

"I believe you are referring to "weathering."  I found the following definition in our glass glossary:
 
Weathering
Changes on the surface of glass caused by chemical reaction with the environment. Weathering usually involves the leaching of alkali from the glass by water, leaving behind siliceous weathering products that are often laminar. "

I thought that interesting. Hope you will. Thanks for not taking us to task for carrying "dug beads" in the first place!