Under this head I shall examine briefly the manner of piercing or
altering the smaller varieties of shells preparatory to stringing. The
multitudes of perforated shells exhumed from the graves of our ancient
tribes afford a fruitful field of study, and our large collections of
more recent specimens serve to illustrate the manner in which they were
employed.
In Plate XXXII illustrations are given showing the various methods of
manipulation and perforation. In North America the _Marginella_, the
_Oliva_, and the _Cyprea_ seem to lead in importance.
Fig. 1 represents an _Oliva_, the apex of which has been broken away and
the rough edge ground down, producing a passage for a thread, which may
be introduced through the natural aperture below. This is a common
method of perforation in many widely separated districts, and with a
considerable variety of shells. The specimen figured is from a mound in
Cocke County, Tenn. It is an _Oliva literata_ from the Atlantic coast.
Fig. 2 shows a very usual method of treating small univalves. The most
prominent part of the lower whorl is ground down until the wall is quite
thin, and a small round hole is then drilled through it. The specimen
illustrated is a large _Olivella biplicata_, obtained from the island of
Santa Rosa, Cal.
Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate specimens from Mexico. Some thin-bladed
implement, probably of stone, has been used to saw a slit or notch in
the first convolution of the shell near the inner lip. Fig. 3 has one of
these perforations, and Fig. 4 has two. The shell is the _Oliva
literata_, from the Atlantic coast.
Fig. 5 is simply one-half of an _Olivella biplicata_ with the interior
parts extracted. It is made by cutting the shell longitudinally and
drilling a central perforation. The specimen figured is from San Miguel
Island, Cal.
Fig. 6 illustrates the manner of breaking out a disk preparatory to
making a bead. This disk, when perforated, is frequently used by the
Indians of the Pacific coast without additional finish.
Fig. 7 shows two examples of beads made from small specimens of the
_Olivella biplicata_; both extremities are ground off, leaving a rather
clumsy cylinder. The originals are from graves on the island of Santa
Rosa. Such beads are frequently worn at the present time.
One of the specimens shown in Fig. 8 is from a grave in Monroe County,
New York, and the other is from a mound in Perry County, Ohio. The shell
is the _Marginella conoidalis_, which has a wide distribution in the
ancient burial-places of the Atlantic slope. In making the perforation
the shoulder is often ground so deeply as to expose the entire length of
the interior spiral.
Fig. 9 represents a perforated _Cerrithidea sacrata_, from Santa Rosa
Island, Cal. The method of perforating employed is a usual one with
small shells of this form. Similar specimens come from many parts of the
United States. Beads of this and the preceding variety are said to have
constituted the original wampum of the Atlantic seaboard.
Fig. 10 illustrates a rude bead made from the spire of a univalve,
probably a small specimen of _Busycon perversum_. Most of the body of
the shell has been removed and a perforation made near the border. Three
of these specimens were found in a burial mound at Murphysboro, Ill.
Fig. 11 illustrates a perforated _Cyprea_ from the Pacific coast. This
is a recent specimen, which illustrates an ancient as well as a modern
method of perforation.
Fig. 12 shows a rather peculiar method of treating _Cyprea_ shells by
the tribes of the Pacific coast and the Pacific islands. The prominent
part of the back is cut or ground away, and the columella is partially
or wholly removed, a passage the full size of the natural aperture being
thus secured. This is also an ancient as well as a modern method of
treatment.
[Illustration: PL. XXXII--PERFORATED SHELL BEADS.
(1/1)]
Small bivalve shells are prepared for stringing by drilling one or more
holes in the center or near the margin, according to the manner in which
they are to be strung. Such beads have been in almost universal use by
primitive peoples, both ancient and modern.
Shells with natural perforations, such as the _Fissurellas_ and
_Dentalia_, are extensively employed by the west coast peoples, and
foreign varieties of the latter have been largely imported by Europeans,
and from very early times have been used by the tribes of all sections.
The natural perforation of the _Fissurella_ is often artificially
enlarged, and additional perforations are made near the margin. Examples
may be seen in Plate XLIX.
I shall include under the head of beads all small objects having a
central or nearly central perforation, made for the purpose of stringing
them in numbers. In shape, they range from straw-like cylinders, three,
four, and even five inches long, with longitudinal perforations, to
thin, button-like disks, two or more inches in diameter. In general the
cylinders are made from the columellæ of univalves, and the disks from
the outer walls of the same, or from the shells of bivalves. Of course,
there are forms that fall under no classification, such as disks with
perforations parallel with the faces, or cylindrical forms with
transverse perforations, while many small, pendant-like objects, of
varied shapes, are strung with the beads, and might be classed with
them; but these are exceptions, and can be described along with the
classified objects most nearly resembling them.
The grinding down and the perforating of natural shells is easily
accomplished, so that any savage could afford to decorate his person
with this jewelry in profusion. But the class of beads illustrated in
Plates XXXIII, XXXIV, and XXXV could not have been made without the
expenditure of much time and labor, and doubtless owe their existence,
in a measure, to mercenary motives. As they were made from the walls or
columellæ of massive shells, they must have been broken or cut out,
ground smooth about the edges, and perforated; this, too, with most
primitive tools.