36 PEARLS AND PEARLING 



quantities of pearls for adornment long before Columbus 

 arrived. It is probable that they occupied the Scioto and 

 Miami Valleys about 1200 A. D. These mound builders 

 have left a complete proof that they had a high regard 

 for the fresh-water pearls of our rivers. The many 

 mounds in Ohio have been explored and the archae- 

 ologists have found great stores of pearls. One of the 

 greatest "finds" was made in the effigy of the Hopewell 

 group, where more than a gallon of pearls were found 

 with two skeletons. Some of these pearls were two- 

 thirds of an inch in diameter. They were usually placed 

 around the neck, the wrists, and the ankles, and were 

 often sewed on the garments. All the pearls had been 

 drilled with a heated copper wire. They were also in- 

 jured by lying in the graves. 



Important "finds" were also made in the Turner group 

 and the Porter mounds. The conditions were found to 

 be similar to the Hopewell group. 



Many pearls were found set in bear's teeth. No hinge 

 pearls were found. 



It is probable that the use of pearls was confined to a 

 few individuals. 



Appearances indicate that the mound builders had 

 reached an advanced state of refinement. 



Since the discovery of America, pearls have been found 

 in the waters of other countries in fisheries that have 

 been established for many hundreds of years and in some 

 that have been found later. Among the oldest of these 

 are the Indian, Ceylon, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf 

 and the Arabian Sea, 



