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

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.