HOLMES.] USE OF UNWORKED SHELLS. 191 



Haliotis. — The Haliotis affords one of the best examples of the varied 

 uses to which the natural shell has been applied by savage peoples. 

 Eecent explorations conducted by the government exploring parties in 

 California have brought to the notice of archaeologists 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 

 probablj^ 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 exam- 

 ple of tlie Haliotis californianm, 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 beeu 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 wei'e ready 

 at hand for the manufacture of implements and ornaments. Buried 

 with the dead, they were designed to serve the purjioses 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' 

 that a few years ago a horse could be had in exchange for a single shell 

 of the Haliotis rii/escens. This species is a great favorite toward the 

 te south, and the Haliotis KamschatMna , which fnruishes a dark greenish 

 nacre, is much iised 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 pur- 

 poses, 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 S3 of the Necropolis 

 of Ancon.2 It is represented as still containing red paint, probably 

 cinnabar. 



A great variety of the larger univalve sea-shells were used in the un- 

 altered state, the Busycons probably taking the most important place, 

 species of the Strombus, the Cassis, the Nautilus and Fasciolaria follow- 

 ing in about the order named. 



' Putnam : in Surveys West of the 100th Meridian, Vol. VII, p. 251. 

 - Eeiss and Stiibel : Necropolis of Ancon, Peru, Plate 83. 



