| Abstract: |
Arikamedu in southeast India was the birthplace of a glass bead industry which supplied much of the Old World with drawn monochrome Indo-Pacific beads for more than 2,000 years. The industry was begun in the third century BC, and the beadmakers subsequently moved to other sites in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand to continue their craft. A remnant of the industry still survives in southern India. In addition, other types of beads were made from the raw stock of the Indo-Pacific beads at Arikamedu and the other sites. Arikamedu was also a major lapidary center, and stone beadmaking there and at the other sites is also reviewed. Both of these craft/industries called for many specialized operations, comparable to modern Indian glass and stone beadmaking operations.
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