Reviewed by Paul T. Nicholson, School of History and Archaeology, University of Wales, PO Box 909, Cardiff CF1 3XU, Wales, UK
This volume is the result of a conference of the
same title held at the British Museum in November 1992, and marking the
500th anniversary of Columbusí voyage to America. This, and similar journeys
of discovery, heralded the opening up of hitherto unknown or unexploited
areas of the world to European trade, an expansion which sets the Post Medieval
world apart from its forerunners. Not only was this a time for the export
of goods from Europe, it also opened the way for the introduction of new
raw materials and new ideas inspired by this expanded world view.
The 24 papers presented in this volume fall into
two broad groups, three ëcontact studyí papers dealing with the material
evidence for early European trade in North America and the remaining 21
papers examining different classes of material. These classes comprise
ceramics, glass, precious metals, copper based alloys and ëother metalsí
(steel for armour and lead seals as evicence for the cloth trade). There
are however, numerous overlaps between the two broad groupings.
This is a fascinating collection of papers because
of its many interconnections. Studies of trade and exchange in prehistory
and in early historical times are well established in archaeology, just
as they are for later historical times within the discipline of history;
the approach however, has tended to bedifferent. For decades now archaeological
science has been used to study the materials of earlier periods for which
there is little or no written evidence. It has served to reinforce scant
historical information on trade in the early civilisations and has won
a place in the standard armoury of archaeological techniques.
However, just as archaeology and industrial archaeology
were relatively slow to develop in Medieval and Post Medieval studies so
has been the rise of archaeological science. There have certainly been
scientific studies of materials from these periods (cf. papers in Peacock
1977) but they have often been published in volumes dealing only with a
single class of material, notably ceramics or metals. This book represents
a much broader spectrum of materials and clearly illustrates the scope
for scientific studies in all periods. It does not deny the importance
of history, but rather facilitates the asking of new or more detailed questions.
In the ëcontact studiesí section the paper by Auger
et al. was particularly interesting. Here archaeological excavation
of the arctic camp established by Martin Frobisher between 1576 and 1578
was combined with historical research on documentary sources for the expeditions
and analytical studies of certain of the finds. Amongst other questions
raised is the reasoning behind faulty assays undertaken by Frobisherís
expedition which led to the shipping of 1136 tons of worthless ore to England.
Contamination of the samples by lead used in separating gold and silver
from ore is suggested as a possibility, one which may be answered by further
investigation of the assay office located at the Kodlunarn island site.
As might be expected, the largest single group of
papers is that dealing with ceramics. Pottery is almost ubiquitous and
lends itself to studies of provenance. Here Neutron Activation Analysis
(also used in other studies in the volume) and mineralogy/chemistry are
represented alongside morphological studies. Unfortunately many of the
papers here, as elsewhere in the volume, are too short and although they
give an interesting overview of the work many of them present relatively
little data.
In the glass section the paper by Gratuze et
al. is of particular interest not so much in that it examines the sources
of cobalt colourant in French glass of the 13th 18th centuries, so much
as that this has been undertaken as part of a wider project examining cobalt
sources from the Bronze Age to the 19th century. This not only illustrates
the relevance of scientific studies for historic periods of time, but also
the importance of building up databases on particular materials over long
chronological spans so that patterns of exploitation can be established.
The paper demonstrates the continuity of certain cobalt sources from prehistory
into historical times.
The paper by Redknap et al. concerning glass
ingots from an East Indiaman is one of several in the volume examining
material from shipwrecks. The link between underwater archaeology and scientific
studies has continued to grow in importance in recent years, and this combination
is of fundamental importance for studies of trade. This particular paper
suggests that the ingots may have been bound for China where European glass
was prized in the 18th century, an interesting reversal of the well known
trade in oriental porcelain to Europe. An appendix by Vlierman will prove
instructive to those faced with deciding whether certain objects are ingots
or parts of ships equipment! This same period saw the import of Chinese
nickel and brass to Europe, a subject covered in the paper by Gilmour and
Worrall.
Papers by Mackay and Barrandon et al. look
at gold and precious metals from the Americas, not least in relation to
the silver mines at Potosi in Bolivia. Not all regions are so rich in historical
information to which analytical studies can be related. This point is well
expressed in the paper by Craddock and Hook, attempting to examine the
trade in copper to Africa where there are exciting possibilites for further
study.
To conclude, this volume will prove of great interest
to historians, archaeologists and archaeological scientists interested
in trade. The papers are brief, but their number and scope cannot fail
to impress upon the reader both the diversity of work taking place in this
field and the immense scope for further work. One criticism however, must
be the use of notes as a vehicle for references. Genuine notes and footnotes
undoubtedly have their place, but with the Harvard referencing system now
well established it seems perverse to avoid it here in favour of a numerical
system for references.
The volume is an example of the fruitful collaboration
between scholars in archaeology, history and science and it is to be hoped
that studies of this kind in the post medieval period will become increasingly
common in the future.
Reference
Peacock, D.P.S. (ed). 1977. Pottery and Early Commerce.
Academic Press, London.