One of the specimens shown in Fig. 8 is from a grave in Monroe County, New York, and the other is from a mound in Perry County, Ohio. The shell is the Marginella conoidalis, which has a wide distribution in the ancient burial-places of the Atlantic slope. In making the perforation the shoulder is often ground so deeply as to expose the entire length of the interior spiral.
Fig. 9 represents a perforated Cerrithidea sacrata, from Santa Rosa Island, Cal. The method of perforating employed is a usual one with small shells of this form. Similar specimens come from many parts of the United States. Beads of this and the preceding variety are said to have constituted the original wampum of the Atlantic seaboard.
Fig. 10 illustrates a rude bead made from the spire of a univalve, probably a small specimen of Busycon perversum. Most of the body of the shell has been removed and a perforation made near the border. Three of these specimens were found in a burial mound at Murphysboro, Ill.
Fig. 11 illustrates a perforated Cyprea from the Pacific coast. This is a recent specimen, which illustrates an ancient as well as a modern method of perforation.
Fig. 12 shows a rather peculiar method of treating Cyprea shells by the tribes of the Pacific coast and the Pacific islands. The prominent part of the back is cut or ground away, and the columella is partially or wholly removed, a passage the full size of the natural aperture being thus secured. This is also an ancient as well as a modern method of treatment.
PL. XXXII—PERFORATED SHELL BEADS.
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Small bivalve shells are prepared for stringing by drilling one or more holes in the center or near the margin, according to the manner in which they are to be strung. Such beads have been in almost universal use by primitive peoples, both ancient and modern.
Shells with natural perforations, such as the Fissurellas and Dentalia, are extensively employed by the west coast peoples, and foreign varieties of the latter have been largely imported by Europeans, and from very early times have been used by the tribes of all sections. The natural perforation of the Fissurella is often artificially enlarged, and additional perforations are made near the margin. Examples may be seen in Plate XLIX.