Yellow Beads Research Articles

Analytical determination of colouring elements and of their compounds in glass beads from graveyards of the Merowings time

428 Monochrome beads from mainly female graves excavated at Gros-Gerau, Pleidelsheim and Weingarten (Germany) were examined by non-destructive methods, i.e. energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis (EDXRF), wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis (WDXRF) with fundamental parameter evaluation, and X-ray diffraction analysis. The results obtained by EDXRF were compared with those for beads from Donaueschingen and Eichstetten, published in former papers. In most cases the results obtained by WDXRF show very high contents of the colouring compounds, corresponding to a low glass quality. The diffraction measurements show crystalline colouring compounds at the surface of the glass beads that can be characterized as Pb2SnSbO6.5 for the yellow beads and as Cu2O for the ochre beads.

A potential for learning probability in young children

Sixty-one children, from 4 to 11 years old, were presented with two sets, each containing blue and yellow elements. Each time, one colour was pointed out as the payoff colour (POC). The child had to choose the set from which he or she would draw at random a POC element in order to be rewarded. The sets were of varying sizes with different proportions of the two colours. The problem was to select the higher of the two probabilities. Three kinds of materials were used: Pairs of urns with blue and yellow beads, pairs of roulettes divided into blue and yellow sectors, and pairs of spinning tops, likewise divided into two colours.