Some writers have suggested that the ancient peoples of the interior
districts must have held shells from the sea in especial esteem, not
only on account of their rarity, but also by reason of some sacred
properties that had, from the mystery of their origin, become attached
to them. It would appear, however, that shells were valued chiefly for
their utility and beauty, and that fresh water as well as marine
varieties were constantly employed. In their unworked state, for their
beauty alone, they are treasured by peoples in all grades of culture,
from the savage up through the barbarian stages to the most civilized
state. As they are most conveniently shaped for utensils and implements,
they have been of great service in the arts, and were thus of the
greatest importance to primitive peoples.
It must not be supposed that the natural shells found in graves were
always destined for use in an unworked state, but they should doubtless
in many cases be regarded as highly-valued raw material intended for use
in the manufacture of articles of utility and taste, in the tempering of
potter's clay, or in effecting exchanges with neighboring tribes.
As vessels for food and drink, and as cups for paint, many species are
most conveniently shaped. Good examples may be found in the _Haliotis_,
so plentiful on the Pacific coast, the _Helcioniscus_ of the Pacific
islands, the _Pattelidæ_ of Central and South America, or the _Pecten_
of many seas.
In their natural state they have a twofold interest to us--as utensils
they are the forerunners of many more elaborate forms that have been
evolved in more advanced stages of culture, and in their distribution
they give us important insight into the commerce and migrations of their
aboriginal owners.
_Pectens._--The Pectens are very widely distributed, and on account of
their beauty of form and color have been in great favor with all
peoples. They figure in the heraldic devices of the Middle Ages and in
the symbolic paintings of the ancient Mexicans. They have been employed
extensively by the ancient inhabitants of America as ornaments and
rattles, and many examples exhumed from graves, mounds, and refuse heaps
appear to have been used as utensils, cups for paint, and vessels for
food and drink. They are especially plentiful in the cemeteries of the
ancient Californians, from which Schumacher and Bowers have made
excellent collections, and specimens may be found in the great museums
of the country. A very good example of this shell (_Janira dentata_)[1]
is shown in Fig. 3, Plate XXI, which represents a paint cup from Santa
Barbara, Cal. This cup is still partially filled with dark, purplish,
indurated paint. Some were receptacles for asphaltum, while others,
which are quite empty, were employed probably for domestic purposes. The
species chiefly used on the Atlantic coast are the _Pecten irradians_
and _P. concentricus_. On the Pacific coast the _Pecten caurinus_ and
_P. hastatus_ are employed by the Makah and other Indians for rattles,
and it is probable that some of the rudely perforated specimens found in
our collections were intended for the same purpose.
_Clams._--Clams formed a very important part of the food of the ancient
seaboard tribes, and the emptied shells have been utilized in a great
variety of ways. The valves of many species are large and deep, and are
available for cups and dishes, and as such are not scorned even by the
modern clam-baker, who, like the ancient inhabitant, makes periodical
visits to the sea-shore to fish and feast. They were also used as
knives, scrapers, and hoes, and in historic times have been extensively
used in the manufacture of wampum. The hard-shell clam, _Venus
mercenaria_, on account of the purplish color of portions of the valves,
has been most extensively used for this purpose. A southern variety, the
_Mercenaria præparca_, is much larger and furnishes excellent dishes.
The soft-shell clam, _Mya arenaria_, has been an important article of
food, but the valves are not serviceable in the arts. The hen clam,
_Mactra ponderosa_, which has large handsome valves, has also been used
to some extent for utensils. On the Pacific coast the large clam,
_Pachydesma crassatelloides_, is known also to be similarly used.
_Unios._--Shells of the great family of the _Unios_ have always held an
important place in the domestic and mechanical arts of the savages of
North America. Their chalky remains are among the most plentiful relics
of the mounds and other ancient burial-places, and they come from
kitchen middens and the more recent graves with all the pearly delicacy
of the freshly emptied shell.
The valves of many varieties of these shells are well adapted to the use
of man. Not large enough for food vessels, they make most satisfactory
spoons and cups, and are frequently found to retain portions of the
pigments left from the last toilet of the primeval warrior and destined
for use in the spirit land. It is probable, however, that they were much
more frequently employed as knives and scrapers, and as such have played
their part in the barbaric feast of the primitive village, or have
assisted in the bloody work of scalp-taking and torture. They are pretty
generally distributed over the country, and their occurrence in the
mounds will probably have but little importance in the study of
artificial distribution. Very little trouble has been taken by explorers
and writers to identify the numerous species collected.
_Haliotis._--The _Haliotis_ affords one of the best examples of the
varied uses to which the natural shell has been applied by savage
peoples. Recent explorations conducted by the government exploring
parties in California have brought to the notice of archæologists and
the world the existence of a new field of research--the burial-places of
the ancient tribes of the Pacific coast. Many of the interments of this
region are probably post-Columbian. Several species of this beautiful
shell were used and are taken from the graves in great numbers, the
pearly lusters being almost perfectly preserved. Many were used as
paint-cups, and still retain dark pigments, probably ochers; one of
these, a fine example of the _Haliotis californianus_, is shown in
Fig. 4, Plate XXI. Some had contained food, and in a few cases still
retained the much-esteemed _chia_ seed, while in others were found
asphaltum, which was employed by these peoples in a variety of arts, the
rows of eyes in the _Haliotis_ usually being stopped with it, and in one
case, as shown in a specimen in the National Museum, it has been used to
deepen a cup by building up a rim around the edge of a shallow shell.
Many others are quite empty, and doubtless served as bowls, dishes, and
spoons, or were ready at hand for the manufacture of implements and
ornaments. Buried with the dead, they were designed to serve the
purposes for which they were used in life.
This shell probably formed as important a factor in the commerce of
these tribes as did the large conchs of the Atlantic coast in that of
the mound-builders and their neighbors. In recent times they are known
to have a high value attached to them, and Professor Putnam states[2]
that a few years ago a horse could be had in exchange for a single shell
of the _Haliotis rufescens_. This species is a great favorite toward the
south, and the _Haliotis Kamschatkana_, which furnishes a dark greenish
nacre, is much used farther north.
The rougher and more homely oyster-shell has also enjoyed the favor of
the mound-building tribes, and has probably served many useful purposes,
such as would only be suggested to peoples unacquainted with the use of
metal. Many species of the _Fissurella_ and _Dentalium_ shells were in
common use, advantage being taken of the natural perforations for
stringing, the latter being quite extensively used for money on the
Pacific slope.
In Fig. 2, Plate XXI, a cut is given of a _Mytilus_ shell paint-cup from
an ancient Peruvian grave. It is copied from Plate 83 of the Necropolis
of Ancon.[3] It is represented as still containing red paint, probably
cinnabar.
A great variety of the larger univalve sea-shells were used in the
unaltered state, the _Busycons_ probably taking the most important
place, species of the _Strombus_, the _Cassis_, the _Nautilus_ and
_Fasciolaria_ following in about the order named.
The _Busycon perversum_ has been more extensively used than any other
shell, and consequently its distribution in one form or other is very
wide. It is obtained along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from
Massachusetts to Mexico, and within the United States it is artificially
distributed over the greater part of the Atlantic slope. The uses to
which this shell has been put by the ancient Americans are so numerous
and varied that I shall not attempt to enumerate them here. They are,
however, pretty thoroughly brought out in the subsequent pages of this
paper.
From the employment of shells in their complete state their modification
for convenience is but a slight step, and when once suggested is easily
accomplished--holes are bored, handles are carved or added, margins are
ground down, useless parts are broken away, and surfaces are polished.
The columellæ are removed from the large univalves, and the parts used
for a great variety of purposes. The mechanical devices employed have
been very simple, such as flint implements for cutting, and rough stones
for breaking and grinding. Hand-drills were at first used for
perforating; but later mechanically revolving drills were devised.
[Illustration: PL. XXI--SHELL VESSELS.
1. From a plate in De Bry.
2. From a Peruvian grave.
3. _Pecten_, California grave. (1/1)
4. _Haliotis_, California grave. (3/4)]