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500-Year-Old Venetian Beads in Alaska

Six of the Venetian beads the team analyzed.
Six of the Venetian beads the team analyzed. Photo: M. L. Kunz et al., 2021/American Antiquity

These light blue beads have been found in North America before, but this year archaeologists announced that a group of beads found in Alaska predated colonial arrival. Some time between 1397 and 1488, the beads made a journey from Italy to Alaska. The archaeological team believes the beads were moved east from Venice and across the Bering Strait, arriving in Alaska via Russia.