Pearls 



147 



"The use of pearls by the aborigines of the territory now comprised in the 

 United States is proven by their appearance in the mounds and certain graves of 

 pre-Columbian date. This is of great interest in view of the unique system of burial 

 and the great variety of objects buried with the pearls. It is evident from the quanti- 

 ties discovered in some of the mounds that a very great number of pearls, many of 

 large size, must have been owned by these aborigines, and they were evidently 

 quite expert in the art of drilling them. Pearls must have been freely used for 

 ornamental purposes, and it is clear that many rivers in this region must have 

 produced them in great numbers, when we consider that in all probability the mussels 



/ 



J 



77V 



Fig. 44. 

 Pearl Beads Showing Methods of Perforation. 



were taken only as they were required for food or for bait in fishing, and had probably 

 reached their full growth. 



"It is not unlikely that pearls were used on this continent for a long period, 

 and they may have been in use centuries before any employment was made of them 

 in Europe. In the age of the mound-builders there were as many pearls in the posses- 

 sion of a single tribe of Indians as existed in any European court. We have no 

 means of ascertaining the precise date of any of these burials, and there are no histori- 

 cal records relating to this region, such as were kept in Mexico, as well as in Europe 

 and Asia. No trace has been found of the employment of pearls, either for decoration 



