Shell Objects
Many American Indian groups, particularly on the coast, crafted artifacts from shell. Because they are made from organic material, shell is found less commonly than stone and clay artifacts, as it will only remain in the ground under certain preservational conditions. Shells made into ornaments were usually crafted from marine shells, such as whelks, conchs, marginella, and olive shells. Some shell ornaments may have also been crafted from freshwater mussel shells gathered from local rivers. The groups below show some a number of ornaments that were crafted from shells.
Shell gorgets consisted of polished, carved shell pendants worn around the neck. They could be plain, but they also often engraved and sometimes highlighted with pigments or pierced openings. The category used here, oval gorgets, simply creates a division based on the overall shape of the gorget. These gorgets were most common during the Mississippian period in North Carolina (A.D. 1000–1700).
For more information, click on the artifact title in the upper left corner of the model window. You can also click on the collection name beneath the model window to view the full collection on Sketchfab.
Mask gorgets, which also date to the Mississippian period (A.D. 1000–1700), are another type of gorget. Generally rare, they have protruding noses, drilled eyes, engraved or drilled mouths, and sometimes have motifs engraved under the eyes. In the examples we have shown here, some of those features have eroded away.
For more information, click on the artifact title in the upper left corner of the model window. You can also click on the collection name beneath the model window to view the full collection on Sketchfab.
Shell pins were objects carved from marine shell that were often made either completely straight, or with an expanded end on the top. Although archaeologists are not entirely sure what these pins would have been used for, they may have held people’s hair in place or have been ear ornaments.
For more information, click on the artifact title in the upper left corner of the model window. You can also click on the collection name beneath the model window to view the full collection on Sketchfab.
Shell beads are a fairly common artifact on sites with good preservation. Some would have been made from mussel shell that was broken into small pieces, formed into semi-round disks, and then drilled using a stone drill. Creating these beads would have taken a lot of skill, as the shell is prone to break. Once the holes were drilled, the beads could be rubbed on a rock until they were smooth. Where marginella and olive shells were used, people could simply perforated a hole near one of the spirals to create a hole for stringing. The term columella bead, seen below, means that the inside spiral, or columella (https://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/coast/nature/images/shell-ornaments.html), of a large shell was used to make the bead.
For more information, click on the artifact title in the upper left corner of the model window. You can also click on the collection name beneath the model window to view the full collection on Sketchfab.
The Other category of shell contains objects which don’t fit neatly into the categories that have already been defined. A shell dipper is a drinking cup; based on ethnographic accounts, some of these may have been ritual in nature and used to consume the Black Drink, a beverage made from brewing the roasted leaves and stems of the yaupon holly. The shell disk could have been a bead blank that did not have the hole drilled yet, or it could have been used for some other purpose, such as gaming.
For more information, click on the artifact title in the upper left corner of the model window. You can also click on the collection name beneath the model window to view the full collection on Sketchfab.