Geographical Distribution of iJic Shell-Purple Industry. 27 



small ; to one of the latter, which \vas enveloped in mat- 

 ting, the reddish hair was adhering." 



It is suggested by Adams, and by H. B. Preston who 

 identified the various shells, that the Pitrpura were the 

 refuse of food, the shells having probably been split open 

 to obtain the animal whole. The breaking of the Purpura, 

 however, seems to me to possess a greater significance. 



Judging from the occurrence in the Old World of 

 similar heaps of shells broken in the same peculiar manner 

 in order to obtain the purple product, it is not at all 

 unreasonable to assume that here we have an indication 

 that the Incas were cognizant of the art of purple dyeing 

 by means of shell-fish. This discovery, therefore, is most 

 valuable, as it at once disposes of any further doubt 

 concerning the precolumbian use of shell-fish for dyeing 

 purposes, and^ moreover, provides us with interesting 

 information as to the precise source of the purple colour 

 in the beautifully preserved textiles of Peru. 



As already pointed out, this purple industry is closely 

 associated, both in the Old and in the New World, with 

 the appreciation of pearls and the use of the artificially 

 devised conch-shell trumpet. Each of these cultural 

 elements had their origin in the Eastern Mediterranean. 

 Stations for the purple industry, as we have seen, were 

 established by the early Mediterranean mariners in several 

 places in the Old World. In addition, we find that an 

 intimate relationship existed between this art and skill in 

 weaving, as well as the mining, working and trafficking in 

 metals, such as gold, silver and copper. 



In the New World the purple industry is associated 

 with similar pursuits. 



As Mrs. Nuttall points out, " we find that, in pre- 

 Columbian times, the Zapotecs, whose descendants still 

 use the purpura, were famed as miners, as workers in 



