Shell bead crafting at Greater Cahokia

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.