Two Thousand Years of Glass Beads in the Philippines: Compositional Analysis of Glass Beads from about 200 BC to AD 1900

Alexandra S. De Leon*1, Camille Ann C. Valencia1 and Laure Dussubieux2

Much remains unknown about the ancient glass trade in the Philippines since its earliest appearance in the archipelago around 2200 years ago. Although recent compositional studies of ancient glass from Island Southeast Asia have substantially advanced understanding of glass-making technologies and trans-Asiatic exchange networks over the past 2,500 years, assemblages from the Philippines remain poorly represented in these datasets. Consequently, knowledge of ancient glass compositions, provenance, and the scale and diversity of exchange networks operating in the Philippine islands from the early first millennium BC through the Spanish colonial period remains limited. This study addresses this gap by analysing glass beads curated in the National Archaeological Collection of the National Museum of the Philippines using laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Compositional data from beads recovered at multiple archaeological sites across the archipelago demonstrate the circulation of a diverse range of glass types from the early centuries BC to the nineteenth century AD, including potash, soda, and lead glasses originating from multiple production traditions in the Mediterranean, South Asia, China, and Europe. These findings provide new insights into diachronic shifts in glass consumption and distribution, highlighting the sustained and evolving participation of Philippine communities in regional and long-distance exchange networks.