This article presents a preliminary study concerning the functional uses of Northern Quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria), or hard-shelled clam tools. A series of experiments were conducted with tools manufactured from shell. These were worked on specific materials using a cutting motion for different durations of use. The artifacts were then analyzed for observable usewear characteristics for comparative purposes.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbrahamsJudith F.1990Data from Shells: Theory in Search of a Method, Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of Connecticut, 53, pp. 3–16.
2.
BinfordLewis R.1978Nunamiut Ethnoarchaeology, Academic Press, New York.
3.
BooneJames L.1987Defining and Measuring Midden Catchment, American Antiquity, 52, pp. 336–345.
4.
BrennanLouis A.1974The Lower Hudson: A Decade of Shell Middens, Archaeology of Eastern North America, 2, pp. 81–93.
5.
BrettPerry A.1974The Maurice River Shell Tool Complex, Man in the Northeast, 7, pp. 110–122.
6.
ChisholmB. S.NelsonD. E., and SchwarczH. P.1982Marine and Terrestrial Protein in Prehistoric Diet on the British Columbia Coast, Current Anthropology, 24, pp. 396–398.
7.
ClaassenCheryl P.1986Shellfishing Seasons in the Prehistoric Southeastern United States, American Antiquity, 51, pp. 21–37.
8.
ErlandsonJon M.1988The Role of Shellfish in Prehistoric Economies: A Protein Perspective, American Antiquity, 53, pp. 102–109.
9.
FundaburkEmma L. and FundaburkMary D.1957Sun Circles and Human Hands: The Southeastern Indians, Art and Industries, Emma L. Fundaburk, Luverne, Alabama.
10.
GouldRichard A.1980Living Archaeology, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
11.
HariotThomas1893Narrative of the First English Plantation of Virginia, Reprint, London (1588).
12.
HultonPaul H. and QuinnDavid B.1964The American Drawings of John White, 1577–1590, Trustees of the British Museum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
13.
IngersollDanielYellenJohn E., and MacdonaldWilliam1977Experimental Archaeology, Columbia University Press, New York.
14.
KeeleyLawrence1980Experimental Determination of Stone Tool Use: A Microwear Analysis, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
15.
LewisCara L.1971A Handbook for Delmarva Archaeology, Office of Archaeology, Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, Department of State, State of Delaware.
16.
MorrisPercy A.1963A Field Guide to the Shells of our Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
17.
ParmaleeP. W. and KlippelW. E.1974Freshwater Mussels as a Prehistoric Food Resource, American Antiquity, 39, pp. 421–434.
18.
RehderHarold A.1988Familiar Seashells of North America, Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
19.
SchaperHans F.1989Shell Middens in the Lower Hudson Valley, Journal of the New York State Archaeological Association, 98, pp. 13–24.
20.
SingerR. and WymerJ.1982The Middle Stone Age at Klasies River Mouth in South Africa, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
21.
StanzeskiAndrew1981Quahog “Shell Tools,”Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of New Jersey, 37, pp. 15–18.
22.
SwantonJohn R.1946The Indians of the Southeastern United States, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 137, Washington, D.C.
23.
VolmanT. P.1978Early Archaeological Evidence for Shellfish Collecting, Science, 201, pp. 911–913.
24.
WaselkovGregory A.1987Shellfish Gathering and Shell Midden Archaeology, in Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, 10, SchifferMichael (ed.), Academic Press, New York, pp. 93–210.
25.
WebbWilliam S.1974Indian Knoll, University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville.
