HOLMES.] VARIETIES OF BEADS. 223 



grou7icl perfectly flat aud the edges are well rouuded. The shell is very 

 compact, and well preserved, aud bears a close resemblance to bone or 

 ivory. 



Fig. 10 represents a thin, fragile disk, from a mound in Southern Illi- 

 nois. It is made of a Unio, and separates into thin sheets or flakes, like 

 mica. 



Figs. 11 and 12 illustrate two compact, nearly symmetrical specimens 

 from a mound at Paint Rock Ferry, Tenn. 



Fig. 13 is from the same locality, and is hemispherical in shape. 



Fig. 14 represents a button-like disk, with large conical perforation, 

 from a mound at Paint Eock Ferry, Tenn. It has probably been made 

 from the wall of a large marine univalve. 



The fine specimen shown in Fig. 15 comes from a mound in Cocke 

 County, Tenn., aud is unusually well preserved. It is very compact, 

 having the appearance of ivory, aud has probably been made from the 

 basal portion of a large univalve. The perforation is extremely large, 

 and is conical, having been bored entirely from one side. 



Figs. 16 and 17 represent two fine specimens from California. They 

 are nearly symmetrical, the faces being flat or slightly convex. The 

 smaller one has been coated with some dark substance — the result, 

 probably, of decay — which has broken away in places, exposing the 

 chalky shell. The edges are ornamented with shallow lines or notches. 

 Such disks, when used as ornaments, probably formed the central piece 

 of a necklace, or were fixed singly to the hair, ears, or costume. As 

 long as these larger specimens retained the color and iridescence of the 

 original shell, they were extremely handsome ornaments, but in their 

 present chalky and discolored state they are not prepossessing ob- 

 jects. 



This plate will serve as a sort of key for reference in the study of 

 beads of this class, as the specimens are typical. 



MASSIVE BEADS. 



Beads made from the columellte of univalves have generally a number 

 of distinguishing characteristics. They are large and massive, and 

 rarely symmetrical in outline, being sections of roughly dressed columns. 

 They are somewhat cylindrical, and often retain the spiral groove as 

 well as other portions of the natural surface. In cases where the form 

 is eutirely artificial they may be distinguished by the sinuous character 

 of the foliation. The i)erforation is nearly always with the axis of the 

 bead, and is in most cases bi-conical. lu Plate XXIX a series of cuts 

 is given which illustrates the various methods of perforation and shows 

 very distinctly the difterences between the rude work of savages and the 

 mechanically perfect woi-k of modern manufacturers. Beads of this class 

 are more decidedly aboriginal iu character than those of any other group, 

 and are without doubt of very ancieut origin. They are widely dis- 

 tributed, and have been found in graves and mounds covering an area 



