I shall not attempt within the limits of this paper to give more than an
outline of this important division of my subject.
The use of beads seems to have been almost universal with peoples of all
times and of all grades of culture, and the custom of wearing them is a
relic of barbarism that promises to be carried a long way into the
future. All suitable natural objects have been brought into
requisition--animal, vegetable, and mineral. Shells from the sea,
precious stones from the mountains, and fruits from the forest have been
utilized; and claws of birds, teeth of animals, and even the nails of
the human hand have been worked into ornaments to gratify the barbaric
vanity of the "untutored savage." The flinty substance of the shells of
mollusks has been a favorite material at all times and with all peoples.
Especially is this true of the shell-loving natives of North America,
among whom shell beads have been in use far back into the prehistoric
ages, and who to-day, from Oregon to Florida, burden themselves to
discomfort with multiple strings of their favorite ornament; and this,
too, without reference to their value as money or their service as
charms. On the necks of brawny and unkempt savages I have seen necklaces
made of the highly glazed _Oliva_, or of the iridescent nacre of the
pearly _Haliotis_, that would not shame a regal wardrobe, and have
marveled at the untaught appreciation of beauty displayed.
Beads made of shell may have three divisions based upon derivation, and
three based upon function.
First, they consist of all smaller varieties of natural shells, pierced
for suspension, or only slightly altered, to add to beauty or
convenience; second, they are made of the shells of bivalves and the
outer walls of univalves; or, third, of the columellæ of the larger
univalves cut to the desired sizes, and shaped and polished to suit the
savage taste.
As to function, they may be classed as personal ornaments, as money, and
as material for mnemonic records.