The Antiquity of Pearling in the Americas

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

Bibliographic Data

ID3199839
AuthorsAmira F Ainis (0000-0001-5538-7204), Harumi Fujita, René L Vellanoweth
Year2019
Volume30
Issue03
Pages637-643
Publication date2019-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLatin American Antiquity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1045-6635 • E-ISSN: 2325-5080
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/laq.2019.49
OpenAlexW2967301852
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited10

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