16 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 
Prehistoric California.* 
BY DR. LORENZO GORDIN YATES. 
Shells of Saxidomus aratus, and Saxidomus nuttallii were 
broken into pieces of suitable size, the edges rounded by rub- 
bing on sandstone or other rocks and the holes drilled from 
both sides with stone drills. In Southern California the shell 
of Callista callosa was the material from which some of the 
milk-white beads were made. 
Shells of Lucapina crenulata were used by the Santa Bar- 
bara Indians as money and ornaments. Sometimes the entire 
shell was used, at others the ends were cut off, the corners 
rounded as in Fig. 23, showing the crenated edges of the shell 
at the sides; or, the shell was cut down to a small oval ring, 
formed by the natural opening in the shell, as in Fig. 21. 
Sometimes a pointed projection was left at one end, but this 
form is rare. 
The shell of the Californian Mussel (Mytilus californianus) 
was sometimes used for the manufacture of money like Fig, 22, 
and also for making small dark-colored beads similar to Figs. 
29 and 30. 
These shells grow to an immense size on the Channel Islands, 
off Santa Barbara, and I have found them ten inches in length, 
but that was many years ago, before the Chinamen had made 
such raids upon them. 
The columella of Siphonalia (Kellettia) kellettu, a fine large 
univalve shell found in the Santa Barbara Channel, was used 
for making the fine beads, or money, represented by Figs. 18 
and 19. The natural spiral depression marking the line of 
growth of the shell, was worked out to a greater depth by 
the Indians, and the depressions thus intensified were filled 
with asphaltum. 
These peculiar spiral lines, with the contrast of color be- 
tween the ivory white of the shell and the black of the as- 
phaltum made a very handsome bead or ornament. At the 
upper point of these beads a small hole was drilled to connect 
with the natural umbilical canal, and at the lower end, the 
natural opening, being too large for their purpose, was bushed 
by the insertion of a dentalium shell imbedded in the asphaltum 
with which the larger portion of the aperture was filled. This 
is well illustrated in Fig. 19, at A, where a portion of the as- 
phaltum has been broken away, showing the natural opening 
in the center of the columella. 
The shells of Pomaulax undosus, another handsome univalve, 
were used in the same manner, except that, as the last named 
*Continued from Page 153, Vol. III, December, 1904. 
