In Pursuit of a Good Glass and Good Company

While glass appears rather homogeneous compared to ceramics and pipes, these small bits of amorphous solid silica can still reveal hidden information when aspects of their chemical composition are tested using a means as simple as short-wave UV light or as complex as X-Ray Fluorescence. Using short-wave UV light and a comparative approach, this thesis reevaluates archaeological table glass collections from Southern Maryland and the Northern Neck of Virginia dating from the mid-17th century to the early 18th century to find evidence for the presence and absence of English lead glass (flint glass). Using these data, the patterns in access, acquisition, and use of glass tableware in this Chesapeake region show a steep difference in the occurrence of lead glass in assemblages before and after the turn of the 18th century. Before 1700, lead glass at these sites tends to comprise less than half the tableware assemblages, yet on sites with occupations extending into the 18th century, more than three quarters of the glassware contains lead. Some inhabitants of this region may have begun consuming English lead glass by the 1680s, primarily in the form of drinking glasses and other beverage related tableware. By the 1690s, lead glass was taking over table space, and by 1700, it was the dominant type of glass tableware.