The Antiquity of Pearling in the Americas

Pearl Modification Beginning at Least 8,500 Years Ago in Baja California Sur, México

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3199839
AutoresAmira F Ainis (0000-0001-5538-7204), Harumi Fujita, René L Vellanoweth
Año2019
Volumen30
Número03
Páginas637-643
Fecha de publicación2019-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaLatin American Antiquity (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1045-6635 • E-ISSN: 2325-5080
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/laq.2019.49
OpenAlexW2967301852
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas10

AMS radiocarbon dating of two modified pearls from the Covacha Babisuri site, Espíritu Santo Island, Baja California Sur, México, corroborates associated midden dates suggesting that traditional indigenous use and modification of pearls as items of adornment began at least 8,500 years ago. To our knowledge, these are the oldest modified pearls found in dated archaeological contexts anywhere in the world. The presence of similarly modified pearls in later components at Covacha Babisuri suggests that this custom continued throughout the Middle Holocene, and ethnohistoric accounts indicate that similar modifications of pearls continued up until the Historic Era. These data show a long history of cultural continuity in the region in pearl harvesting, modification, and use as adornment

Adornment · Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Geography · Holocene · Indigenous · Midden · Pearl · Radiocarbon dating · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · History