328 ILLINOIS STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



THE USE OF MOLLUSCAN SHELLS BY THE 

 CAHOKIA MOUND BUILDERS* 



Frank Collins Baker, Museum of Natural History, 

 University of Illinois 



Tiie use of the Mollnsca by aboriginal man has received 

 scant attention from students of the Mollusca. Stearns, 1 

 many years ago, published a very able paper on the use 

 of molluscan shells as primitive money, but the wide use 

 of shells for many purposes has been noted almost exclu- 

 sively by ethnologists. Figures and descriptions of these 

 are scattered through the reports and bulletins of the Bu- 

 reau of American Ethnology and in papers and reports 

 by archeologists. One of the best summaries of the use of 

 molluscan shells may be found in Moorehead's Stone Age 

 in America, pages 117-133. 



The excavation and study of the Cahokia group of 

 mounds near East St. Louis, Illinois, carried on by Pro- 

 fessor W. K. Moorehead under the auspices of the Uni- 

 versity of Illinois, has given unusual opportunity to study 

 the use of the Mollusca by the ancient Mound Builders, 

 at least in this region. 



The molluscan shells may be divided into two groups : 

 those of marine origin and those gathered from near-by 

 streams and ponds — fresh water shells. The latter may 

 be considered first. 



FRESH WATER MOLLUSCA 



An examination of the region about the Cahokia 

 Mounds indicates that there were numerous bodies of 

 water as well as creeks (and the Mississippi River) from 

 which mollusks could be obtained. The collection contains 

 specimens from both creek and river, as well as a few 

 from ponds and swales. 



* Contribution from the Museum of Natural History, University of Illi- 

 nois, No. 31. 



1. Ethno-Conchology : A Study of Primitive Money. By R. E. C. 

 Stearns. An. Rep. Smithsonian Institute, 1887, Part II, page 297. 



