The Antiquity of Pearling in the Americas

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

Dados Bibliográficos

ID3199839
AutoresAmira F Ainis (0000-0001-5538-7204), Harumi Fujita, René L Vellanoweth
Ano2019
Volume30
Fascículo03
Páginas637-643
Data de publicação2019-09-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoLatin American Antiquity (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1045-6635 • E-ISSN: 2325-5080
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/laq.2019.49
OpenAlexW2967301852
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas6
Referências 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