Crossing the Borders: New Methods and Techniques in the Study of Archaeological Materials from the Caribbean

88 / De Mille, Varney, and Turney
and furrowlike (arrow #3), in addition to smoother more polished areas (outlined
by the oval). Although it is difficult to tell from this view, the borehole is parallel.
Discussion
We offer tentative interpretations of our findings based on comparisons with those
of Gwinnett and Gorelick (1979, 1981; Gorelick and Gwinnett 1978). Their investigations
remain the most extensive utilizing these general methods. In general their
findings seem to suggest that the nature of the drill, objective piece type, and abrasive
(if utilized) can all contribute to the appearance of the manufacturing traces
on the inside of bead boreholes.
The manufacturing traces resulting from our first experimental trial with a
wooden drill mimic those described by Gwinnett and Gorelick (1979). A particular
characteristic of a wooden drill is a stepped or terraced appearance at the leading
edge of the borehole, hypothesized to be a result of changes in the wooden drill
bit due to attrition (Gwinnett and Gorelick 1979). The leading edge of the experimental
piece conforms to the expected stepped appearance. The partially drilled
calcite bead also has this characteristic leading edge, strongly suggesting the use of
a wooden drill or material similar in its drilling properties.
The use of softer drills such as wood requires the use of an abrasive as a cutting
agent. On the basis of their experimental work, Gorelick and Gwinnett (1978)
cite the presence of concentric abrasion rings and the occasional more prominent
furrow as characteristics of the use of abrasives. In the archaeological and experimental
examples thought and known to be drilled with wooden drills, Gwinnett
and Gorelick (1979) describe a common pattern of irregular (spacing and
size) concentric abrasion rings characterizing the borehole, with smoother polished
patches also in evidence. They hypothesize that localized polishing is the result
of the breakdown of the abrasive into finer particles that then act in a polishing
rather than cutting fashion. Similarly, it is possible that deeper furrows that
appear to cut into the bore walls may result from the compaction of the abrasive
in the bottom of the borehole, resulting in a more outward rather than downward
cutting action.
Concentric abrasion rings are present on all the experimental and archaeological
objects described above. However, they are definitely more prominent on
the archaeological items, reflecting differences in abrasive use. The experimental
piece presented an interesting feature, as the more prominent furrows near the
leading edge were found to be more highly polished than the immediate area surrounding
them. A similar highly localized polishing effect was not observed on the
archaeological examples.
A prominent difference we observed between the experimental piece and the
archaeological beads from Antigua is the prominently conical borehole of the ex-
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