Chapter 3 Multi-Analytical Characterization of Beads from an Andean Chullpa Funerary Assemblage Heather Walder, 1 Adelphine Bonneau, 2 Benjamin Carter, 3 Ruth Ann Armitage, 4 and William A. Lovis *,5 1 Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, La Crosse, Wisconsin 54601, United States 2 Departments of Chemistry and History, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada J1K 2R1 3 Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania 18104, United States 4 Department of Chemistry, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan 48197, United States 5 Department of Anthropology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States * Email: lovis@msu.edu In 1890, the U.S. Consul to Chile sent Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University) the mummifed remains of a young Andean girl interred in a chullpa tomb, reputedly located south of La Paz, Bolivia. She was accompanied by a group of funerary objects, and the documentation indicated that she dated from the 15th century CE and was from the Inca culture. She was repatriated to Bolivia in January 2019. During and following repatriation minimally destructive analyses were undertaken on the funerary objects that had been associated with the interment. Te estimated age of 1400-1500 CE was corroborated by a series of AMS ages on maize, leather, and gourd. However, a series of small ~2.5 mm black and red beads gave the appearance of European manufactured glass “seed” beads common in the context of colonial exchange. If the beads were glass, and European in origin, it would question the chronological homogeneity and therefore the integrity of the funerary assemblage since they would likely postdate ca. 1533 CE. Microscopic observations revealed morphological characteristics consistent with fne sedimentary rock, or fne ceramic paste, but could not conclusively eliminate the possibility of weathered and altered vitreous material such as glass. To explore the chemical composition of the beads one of each color – limited by the sensitive nature of the assemblage – was subjected to a series of analyses. SEM-EDS (scanning electron microscopy coupled to X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy), LA-ICP-MS (laser ablation - © 2023 American Chemical Society Downloaded via HEATHER WALDER on August 24, 2023 at 15:05:09 (UTC). See https://pubs.acs.org/sharingguidelines for options on how to legitimately share published articles. Armitage and Fraser; Chemistry in the Service of Archaeology ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 0.