The consideration of these pins leads naturally to the presentation of other classes of objects manufactured from the columellæ of marine univalves among which beads are the most numerous and important.
PL. XXXI—PINS—PACIFIC COAST FORMS.
1. Shell pin from San Miguel Island.
2. Shell pin from Dos Pueblos, Cal.
3. An untrimmed columella.
4. Bone pin from Oregon.
5. Shell pin from San Miguel Island.
6. Shell pin from San Miguel Island.
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BEADS.
I shall not attempt within the limits of this paper to give more than an outline of this important division of my subject.
The use of beads seems to have been almost universal with peoples of all times and of all grades of culture, and the custom of wearing them is a relic of barbarism that promises to be carried a long way into the future. All suitable natural objects have been brought into requisition—animal, vegetable, and mineral. Shells from the sea, precious stones from the mountains, and fruits from the forest have been utilized; and claws of birds, teeth of animals, and even the nails of the human hand have been worked into ornaments to gratify the barbaric vanity of the "untutored savage." The flinty substance of the shells of mollusks has been a favorite material at all times and with all peoples. Especially is this true of the shell-loving natives of North America, among whom shell beads have been in use far back into the prehistoric ages, and who to-day, from Oregon to Florida, burden themselves to discomfort with multiple strings of their favorite ornament; and this, too, without reference to their value as money or their service as charms. On the necks of brawny and unkempt savages I have seen necklaces made of the highly glazed Oliva, or of the iridescent nacre of the pearly Haliotis, that would not shame a regal wardrobe, and have marveled at the untaught appreciation of beauty displayed.
Beads made of shell may have three divisions based upon derivation, and three based upon function.
First, they consist of all smaller varieties of natural shells, pierced for suspension, or only slightly altered, to add to beauty or convenience; second, they are made of the shells of bivalves and the outer walls of univalves; or, third, of the columellæ of the larger univalves cut to the desired sizes, and shaped and polished to suit the savage taste.