HOLMES.' 



PENDANT ORNAMENTS OF THE ANCIENT CALIFORNIANS. 263 



HalioUs spkn.lcn. (?), anrt linisbe.l with .......li care. Two perforations 



have been made uear the upper uuugin, which is arched or curved while 

 the lower is nearly straight. The edges are neatly notched. Although 

 somewhat altered l>y exposure these objects are still very pretty. 



A very neat, well preserved little i)eudant is shown in Fig. 5. The 

 specimen presented in Fig. G is peculiar In having a series of five per- 

 forations, one near the middle and the others uear the ends. The ex- 

 ample given in Fig. 7 has two perforations, one at each end. These are 

 all made from species of the Ealiotis. 



The specimen presented in Fig. 8 is made from the lip ot a Cyprea 

 smdicea with verv little change ex.^'ptthe carefully made perforation. 

 It is from the island of San Miguel. The idea of beautifying orna- 

 ments made from the Haliotis and other shells by notching the edges 

 may have been suggested by the natural notches charaC. eristic of the 



Fios 1, 2, and '?,, Plate XLIX, illustrate a group of small, delicate, 

 ladle-shaped pendants. The perforation for suspen.sioii is at the upper 

 end of the handle and rhe body has an oval or circular perforation, which 

 is often so enlarged as to leave only a narrow ring, like the rim of an 

 eveolass. The specimen shown in Fig. 3 has two lobes, with a large 

 perforation or opening in each. In one instance the handle is quite 

 wide at the upper end and ornamented by two deep lateral notcljes. 

 The ed"-es of these specimens are nearly always adorned with notches 

 or crossed lines. All are fashioned from the HaUotU, and although con- 

 siderably stained are still well enough preserved to show the pearly 

 lusters of that shell. 



Circular and oval disks are also nnmerous and vary much lu hmsh; 

 some have a great number of perforations or indentations, and nearly 

 all are neatly notched around the margins. Examples are given in 



Figs. 4 and 5. . ,, . 



The national collection contahis a number of rings and pieces ot rings 

 made from the valves of a large .•lam, probably a Pectuncnlm, one ex- 

 ample of which is shown in Fig. 0. The convex back of the shell is 

 ground ofl- until a marginal ring only remains. A ,)erforation is made 

 near the angle of the beak. The shell is from the California coast, but 

 the rings were collected mostly if not entirely from Arizona and New 

 Mexico It is not impossible that the tribes of the interior procured 

 these articles from white traders, as they are known to have secured 

 other shell ornaments in this way. 



The natives of the California coast were not slow in taking advantage 

 of natural forms to aid their art or to save labor. The shells of the 

 Fissurcllidm as well as of the RalioHdw have been m great iavor. ihey 

 have been used as beads and pendants in their natural state or the nat- 

 ural perforations have been enlarged until only a ring has been left, or 

 the margin and sides have been ground down until nothing ot the origp 

 nal form or surface remained. Two of these forms are shown m Figs. 7 



