{"title":"Shell bead crafting at Greater Cahokia","authors":"Laura Kozuch","doi":"10.1177/01976931211048205","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Shell beads were important to Mississippians, and thousands of beads were found mostly associated with burials. Here I synthesize data on shell bead workshops from Greater Cahokia, along with crafting techniques. Different bead types required different tools, which, in conjunction with shell remains, allow the differentiation of columella versus disk bead workshops. Perishable drill tips were probably used. Bead size standardization is distinguished from craft specialization, and time spent on crafting indicates full-time specialists. Expeditions to get lightning whelk shells from the Gulf of Mexico were a part of the operational chain. The resources spent traveling to obtain shells, large workshop areas, time spent crafting beads, ethnohistoric accounts of shell barter, and the roles lightning whelk artifacts had/have in helping souls travel during liminal situations such as transitioning to death, all underscore the importance of Mississippian shell beads.","PeriodicalId":43677,"journal":{"name":"NORTH AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGIST","volume":"83 1","pages":"64 - 94"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4000,"publicationDate":"2021-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"5","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"NORTH AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGIST","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/01976931211048205","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"ARCHAEOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 5
Abstract
Shell beads were important to Mississippians, and thousands of beads were found mostly associated with burials. Here I synthesize data on shell bead workshops from Greater Cahokia, along with crafting techniques. Different bead types required different tools, which, in conjunction with shell remains, allow the differentiation of columella versus disk bead workshops. Perishable drill tips were probably used. Bead size standardization is distinguished from craft specialization, and time spent on crafting indicates full-time specialists. Expeditions to get lightning whelk shells from the Gulf of Mexico were a part of the operational chain. The resources spent traveling to obtain shells, large workshop areas, time spent crafting beads, ethnohistoric accounts of shell barter, and the roles lightning whelk artifacts had/have in helping souls travel during liminal situations such as transitioning to death, all underscore the importance of Mississippian shell beads.
期刊介绍：
Published quarterly, this is the only general journal dedicated solely to North America—with total coverage of archaeological activity in the United States, Canada, and Northern Mexico (excluding Mesoamerica). The North American Archaeologist surveys all aspects of prehistoric and historic archaeology within an evolutionary perspective, from Paleo-Indian studies to industrial sites. It accents the results of Resource Management and Contract Archaeology, the newest growth areas in archaeology, often neglected in other publications. The Journal regularly and reliably publishes work based on activities in state, provincial and local archaeological societies.
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