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The Age and Origin of Olivella Beads from Oregon’s LSP-1 Rockshelter: The Oldest Marine Shell Beads in the Northern Great Basin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Geoffrey M. Smith ,
Alexander Cherkinsky ,
Carla Hadden  and
Aaron P. Ollivier
Geoffrey M. Smith*
Affiliation:
Great Basin Great Basin Paleoindian Research Unit, Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 No. Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89557
Alexander Cherkinsky*
Affiliation:
Center for Applied Isotope Studies, 120 Riverbend Rd., Athens, GA 30602
Carla Hadden
Affiliation:
Center for Applied Isotope Studies, 120 Riverbend Road, Athens, GA 30602
Aaron P. Ollivier*
Affiliation:
Great Basin Great Basin Paleoindian Research Unit, Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 No. Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89557
*
(geoffreys@unr.edu, corresponding author)
(acherkin@uga.edu)
(aaronpollivier@gmail.com)
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Abstract

Beads manufactured from marine shells originating along the Pacific Coast have been found at numerous sites in the western United States. Because they were conveyed across substantial distances and widely exchanged during ethnographic times, researchers generally assume that shell beads were also traded prehistorically. By examining the spatial and temporal distribution of beads, researchers have reconstructed prehistoric exchange networks. In this article, we present stable isotope data and accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) radiocarbon dates for six Callianax (previously Olivella) biplicata beads from the LSP-1 rockshelter in southcentral Oregon. Most of the beads were deposited during the early Holocene during a series of short-term occupations and the shells used to manufacture them were procured along the northern California, Oregon, or Washington coasts.

Cuentas manufacturadas a partir de valvas de moluscos marinos han sido halladas en numerosos sitios del oeste de los Estados Unidos de América. Debido a que han sido transportados a distancias significativas y ampliamente intercambiados durante tiempos etnográficos, los investigadores han asumido que las cuentas de valvas han sido también intercambiado en momentos prehistóricos. Examinando la distribución espacial y temporal de las cuentas, algunos investigadores han reconstruido las redes de intercambio. En este trabajo presentamos datos de isótopos estables y fechados radiocarbónicos (AMS) para seis cuentas realizadas en valvas de Callianax biplicata (anteriormente denominadas Olivella) procedentes del abrigo rocoso LSP-1 en el centro-sur de Oregon. Los resultados indican que las cuentas fueron depositadas durante el Holoceno temprano, cuando LSP-1 fue utilizado durante una serie de ocupaciones de corto plazo. Por lo tanto, son las cuentas de concha marina más antiguas de la Gran Cuenca y probablemente fueron hechos de concha adquiridas en las costas de California, Oregon o Washington.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 81 , Issue 3 , July 2016 , pp. 550 - 561
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2016 

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