Bone and Shell Objects of the Prehistoric Natives of Alabama

Shells and bones… something we pick up today on the seashore or in a streambed.. We take them home and put them on a coffee table or on a book shelf, a conversation piece for visits with friends.  In prehistory, it was totally different.  Those bones and shells were pure gold and survival in the lives of the Natives of North America.

The following pages reflect that fact.  Most of the shell objects were found in burials of high status individuals in central and north Alabama.  The objects,  some utilitarian, some decorative, some ceremonial, are now white and eroded.  They were originally multicolored mother-of– pearl or brilliant white with a shine.   They were traded widely and were as important to the North American Natives as were golden ornaments and iron utilitarian tools of Old World peoples.