Perforated shell and stone objects from Sharm

A group of six shell and four stone perforated objects is examined with a view to determining their function. Several possibilities are suggested as a result of a number of parallels in southeastern Arabia.     

Miniature shell and bone 'hilts' or 'pulleys' from Sharm

Thirteen unusual shell and bone objects of contentious function are amongst the small finds from tomb I at Sharm. An inventory of the objects is provided after a discussion of the potential use of the objects is presented.     

Notes on the shell and bone rings from Sharm

A group of thirteen fragmentary and complete shell and bone rings was excavated at Sharm, including one example likely to be a bracelet. The function of the objects as rings is undisputed. A number of the rings appear to be manufactured from Conus sp., whereas the remainder are apparently made from bone.     

Possible shell beads from the Middle Stone Age layers of Sibudu Cave,South Africa

Recent excavations at Sibudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, uncovered an Iron Age horizon below which is a complex 3 m thick Middle Stone Age sequence with post-Howiesons Poort, Howiesons Poort, Still Bay and pre-Still Bay layers. Available OSL ages indicate that the Howiesons Poort occupation is older than 60 ky and the Still Bay older than 70 ky. Here we present the archaeological context and the taphonomic analysis of six Afrolittorina africana, three of which bear perforations, from the Still Bay and Howiesons Poort layers of this site. The single specimen from the latter cultural horizon comes from the lowermost layer attributed to this technocomplex. This and the depositional context of this layer suggest that this shell derives, as do the other five, from the Still Bay occupation layers. Taphonomic analysis of the archaeological specimens based on present day Afrolittorina africana biocoenoses, microscopic examination, morphometry, experimental perforation of modern shells, and a review of the natural agents that may accumulate marine shells at inland sites, indicate probable human involvement in the collection, transport, modification, and abandonment of Afrolittorina africana in Sibudu. If confirmed by future discoveries these shells would corroborate the use of personal ornaments, already attested at Blombos Cave, Western Cape Province, by Still Bay populations. The apparent absence of ornaments at Howiesons Poort sites raises the question of the mechanisms that have led to cultural modernity since it seems to contradict the scenario according to which cultural innovations recorded at Middle Stone Age sites reflect a process of continuous accretion and elaboration interpreted as the behavioural corollary of the emergence of anatomically modern humans.     

Notes on four miscellaneous shell and organic objects from Sharm

Four miscellaneous artefacts, which do not correspond to the other major small finds groups, are also included in the Sharm assemblage. Whilst the gastropod shell is positively identified as Tonna luteostoma, the materials and function of the remaining objects are conjectural.     

Decorated discs from Sharm

Eight discs, largely concavo-convex in shape and decorated with a symmetrical rosette pattern, were recovered from Tomb I during excavations. A similar undecorated concavo-convex disc was also found. The following paper presents the results of the typological examination of the objects, with the materials and manufacturing techniques published elsewhere in this volume. These discs are widely recognised in southeastern Arabia, with parallels suggesting a predominantly Iron Age date.     

Prehistoric shell beads on the Georgia coast

ABSTRACT

The prehistoric peoples living along the Georgia coast fabricated and used shell beads for millennia. Out of a number of mollusk species inhabiting the region, only a few were selected for the fabrication of beads. The knobbed whelk (Busycon carica) was the most common species used, and it represents the most common whelk found in Atlantic coastal waters. The lightning whelk (Busycon sinistrum), the second most common whelk in the region, was occasionally used in the production of beads. Small numbers of beads were made from marginella and olive shells and, rarely, from bivalve species. Small beads were manufactured from the body whorl of whelks, while larger beads were fabricated from whelk collumella. Shell beads appear in small quantities in Late Archaic period contexts, and then almost disappear during the Woodland period. Beads reappear in quantities at about AD 800 in the Early Mississippian period. More shell beads have been recovered from Mississippian period archaeological contexts along the northern Georgia coast than along the southern coast, reflective of cultural differences between these two geographic areas in the post-Woodland period era.     

Shells below,stars above: four perspectives on shell beads

ABSTRACT

In the papers assembled here, five scholars focus on shell beads at site, watershed, and regional scales. Themes include manufacturing techniques such as bore size discussions, changes in bead preferences over time and geography, the appearance of beaded regalia, and shell bead meaning. Claassen’s paper addresses the beads at Late Archaic Indian Knoll; Connaway discusses shell beads in northwestern Mississippi; Pearson looks at beads from coastal Georgia; and Webster and King examine beads before and after European contact in the Potomac basin.     

Notes on two alabaster fragments from Sharm

Two alabaster objects were recovered from the excavations at Sharm, both having unusual shapes. The function of each piece is unknown, although it is suggested that they may have been blanks or cores for the manufacture of other alabaster items.     

Notes on a decorated spiny oyster from Sharm

S-305 is the worked remnant of one half of a spiny oyster which exhibits drill marks consistent with single and double dot-in-circle motifs. The object is briefly described with a view to determining its function. The manufacturing marks are analysed elsewhere in this volume by Katia Davis.     

Provenance analysis of Olivella biplicata shell beads from the California and Oregon Coast by stable isotope fingerprinting

While Olivella beads are a common component of archaeological sites in California, and were widely traded in prehistory, no method has been developed to trace individual beads to a point of origin. This study examines the potential of stable carbon and oxygen isotopes to source Olivella beads from the Pacific coast. The study shows that 1) the oxygen isotopic composition of modern Olivella biplicata shells faithfully varies with ambient sea surface temperature and local upwelling, lending themselves to sourcing studies; 2) oxygen isotope ratios in modern shells can be used to identify shells that grow north versus south of Point Conception, California; and 3) shell carbon isotope ratios may further subdivide these two regions into more spatially restricted source zones. Analyses on a small sample of 10 beads found at various archaeological sites within the interior of California suggest that all were made in southern California.     

Wadi Suq and Iron Age period ceramics from Sharm, Fujairah (U.A.E.)

The Wadi Suq period and Iron Age ceramics from Sharm are examined in terms of morphological, compositional and decorative features. The assemblage is typical of the second- and first-millennium BC ceramics of southeastern Arabia. The more unusual Iron Age 'imitation soft stone' ceramics are amply represented and the Sharm assemblage considerably expands upon this corpus of ceramics which has hitherto been less than abundant in the region. Comparisons with other second- and first-millennium sites suggest the tombs were largely occupied in the late Wadi Suq period, a pattern of occupation which again peaked in the Iron Age II period.