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Cowrie shell tools: fact or fiction?
Author(s) -
Spennemann Dirk H.R.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
archaeology in oceania
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1834-4453
pISSN - 0728-4896
DOI - 10.1002/j.1834-4453.1993.tb00312.x
Subject(s) - archaeology , archaeological record , shell (structure) , argument (complex analysis) , ethnography , history , geology , geography , engineering , chemistry , biochemistry , civil engineering
Fragmented cowrie shells found in Oceanic archaeological sites are very often interpreted as artefacts. This paper investigates the ethnographic record of documented uses of cowrie shells and compares the archaeological record. Based on experimental data an argument is advanced that some of the observed breakage is due to biogenic causes based on shell structure rather than on intentional anthropogenic action.