Shell Bracelet

Item number E2559-0 from the National Museum of Natural History.

Public

Item Records

This page shows all the information we have about this item. Both the institution that physically holds this item, and RRN members have contributed the knowledge on this page. You’re looking at the item record provided by the holding institution. If you scroll further down the page, you’ll see the information from RRN members, and can share your own knowledge too.

The RRN processes the information it receives from each institution to make it more readable and easier to search. If you’re doing in-depth research on this item, be sure to take a look at the Data Source tab to see the information exactly as it was provided by the institution.

These records are easy to share because each has a unique web address. You can copy and paste the location from your browser’s address bar into an email, word document, or chat message to share this item with others.

Data
Data Source

This information was automatically generated from data provided by National Museum of Natural History. It has been standardized to aid in finding and grouping information within the RRN. Accuracy and meaning should be verified from the Data Source tab.

Notes

BRACELET. 38 SMALL SHELLS STRUNG ON A TWO PLY TWISTED VEGETABLE FIBER CORD. AN OLD TAG READS, "A SPECIES OF FRESHWATER SHELL, "MELANIA," A WEST COAST SPECIES". PUGET SOUND, WASHINGTON.Peale catalogue describes # 400 (E2558) and #401 (E8780) as "Shell necklace worn by the natives of the Straits of de Fuca. 401A (E2559) A duplicate made of fresh water shells." E2559 is, at least currently, too small to be worn as a necklace."Straits of de Fuca" presumably refers to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The Strait of Juan de Fuca is the waterway stretching from the Pacific Ocean on the west to the San Juan Islands on the east, with Vancouver Island to the north and the Olympic Peninsula to the south. Puget Sound is the narrower waters south of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The international boundary between the United States and Canada runs down the center of the Strait.