Glycymeris (shells)

Theshellsof large saltwater bittersweet clams in the genusGlycymerishave a specialarchaeologicalsignificance in thesouthwestern USA,because the shells were used in trade item production by theHohokamtribe of Amerindians. In this context the shells are known to archeologists as "Glycymeris shells".

These Glycymeris shells came from a very large (up to 10 cm) and handsome species,Glycymeris gigantea,which is found in what is now westernMexico,from the Pacific coast ofBaja California,throughout theGulf of California,and from there as far south asAcapulco.

TheHohokampeople primarily used these large shells to make bracelets and rings; the center of the shell was generally removed immediately after the bivalves were collected, and before transport back to the Hohokam villages in theGila Basin.

There are several scholarly journals which have articles dealing with shell trade in theAmerican Southwestwhich mention the Glycymeris shell.

Finds of Glycymeris have also been made in Europe with finds inVinča.Glycymeris shells have also been found in the eyes of statuettes found inUr.

References

• Colton, Harold Sellers.Prehistoric Trade in the Southwest.The Scientific Monthly. Vol 52, No.4 (Apr., 1941): 308-319.
• Woodward, Arthur.A Shell Bracelet Manufactory.American Antiquity. Vol. 2, No. 2 (Oct., 1936): 117-125.
• Keen, Myra,1971.Sea shells of tropical west America,second edition, Stanford University Press.