Dentalium Necklace

This beautiful necklace has 3 black jade beads and two dentalium shells strung with gold-filled  tubes.

The Dentalium shells were traded widely throughout the Americas and Asia as early as 10,000 B.C. 

In North America Dentalium shells were harvested from the ocean floor by tribes of the Pacific Coast, centering around the vecinity of what is today British Columbia.  These valued shells were traded throughout areas ranging as far east to Ohio and Michigan and to Southern California.

These coveted shells became the highlights incorporated into clothing and jewelry worn by North american tribes.