Shell Bead Necklace, Prehistoric Cowrie Shell Jewelry

A prehistoric-style necklace of cowrie-type shell beads, each with its toothed slit facing out, alternating with short tube beads on a thin cord. A fan-shaped scallop shell pendant hangs from a small bail at the front. The whole necklace lies flat in one piece. Shell beads are among the oldest known personal ornaments: pierced marine shells used as beads have been found at sites tens of thousands of years old in Africa and the Near East, and cowries stayed popular across the world for millennia…

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