Pearls- Field Museum Research

Revealing Cultural Insights
Anthropological research relating to pearls provides a clearer and more accurate picture of the social, artistic, and economic situation for many cultures.

		China Field Museum anthropologist Bennet Bronson, also a co-curator for Pearls, has been researching the use of the pearl as a symbol during the Qing dynasty of 17th-century China. At that time, the emperor was supposed to use pearls only from freshwater mussels in Manchuria, the dynasty’s homeland. Bronson has discovered that in reality, however, the elite of the Qing period loved saltwater pearls as well and imported them from Vietnam, the Philippines, and more distant places.
		Ancient Mexico In another project, Museum anthropologists Gary Feinman and Linda Nicholas recently published a pioneering article on the use of mother-of-pearl and other shells in pre-Spanish Mexico. The artifacts they've uncovered demonstrate the artistic skills and the commercial scope of the ancient Maya of Mesoamerica.

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