Following the Shell Trail: Analysis of Prehistoric Shell at Petrified Forest National Park

Summary

Shell jewelry at Petrified Forest National Park has been found from Basketmaker II through Pueblo IV. Since there are no local sources of marine shell, it is important to understand how trade routes from the Gulf of California and the Gulf of Mexico directly affected how shell was traded to this region. Shell recovered from archaeological contexts curated in the Petrified Forest National Park collections were typed according to class, genus, and species and were sourced to the Gulf of California or the Gulf of Mexico. The shell was analyzed by temporal components to see if any discernible consumer patterns occurred. This analysis was conducted to determine if shell use was dependent on shell type or procurement location and to determine variability in shell use over time. A literature review was conducted to determine possible trade routes from both the Gulf of California and the Gulf of Mexico to Petrified Forest National Park. Ultimately this project will enhance the understandings of shell use, procurement, trade networks, and temporal consumer patterns on the Colorado Plateau.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Archaeology along the Painted Desert: Current Research in Petrified Forest National Park   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16549