This guide provides information relevant to the description and classification of glass beads recovered from archaeological sites in North and South America and the Caribbean. It is partly based on and intended to be used with "A Classification System for Glass Beads for the Use of Field Archaeologists," by Kenneth and Martha Kidd. Material presented includes a critical evaluation of several bead classification schemes, an overview of bead manufacturing techniques, a descriptive listing of the various classes and types of beads that have been recorded to date, and an explication of the physical attributes of a bead, as well as interpretative material concerning dating and likely origins.