V. NOTES ON BEAD STRINGING AT LOVELOCK CAVE, NEVADA John Carroll Beads and ornaments made from Pacific Coast shells have been found in archaeological sites throughout North America. The abundance and styl- istic variation of shell beads as they occur over time in archaeological sites make them useful as chronological guides, and they are used in parts of California for this purpose in the same way as projectile points in the Great Basin and ceramics in the Southwest. Shell beads were chiefly employed in body ornamentation (wrist bands, necklaces, or sewn on clothing) and are found in open sites, usually associated with graves. By studying these beads in situ, one can at times determine the function which they served, but the methods by which the beads were strung is largely unknown since the cordage has disappeared. A number of shell beads strung with their original cordage have been found in Lovelock Cave (NV-Ch-18), a site containing dry refuse deposits. Loud (Loud and Harrington 1929:105, Pl. 17:a,b) in 1912 found three examples of a series of spire-ground Olivella biplicata shells. Two of these were tied to two base cords by a third cord (Fig. la,b), and one set was strung with a single element technique employing a "crochet" stitch (Fig. lc). Loud and Harrington in their joint excavations at the cave in 1 24 found three more examples of strung beads (Figs. ld-f). Two of the specimens (Figs. ld,e) were classified by Bennyhoff and Heizer (1958:90-91) as type la; the third specimen (Fig. lf) was made of flat-disk Olivella bipli- cata beads (cf. Grosscup 1960:37-39). The technique of stringing for two of these examples of beadwork has been described by Orchard (1929:23-24) as shown here in Figures le,f. During the Spring quarter of 1969, a University of California field course in archaeology was held near Lovelock, Nevada. Excavation was con- centrated in Lovelock Cave and at the Humboldt Lakebed site (NV-Ch-15) on the former shore of Humboldt Sink. Excavation in the west end of Lovelock Cave involved removal of part of the much-disturbed occupation fill from the West Crevice area. In the debris in this deposit were found four short lengths of overlapping Olivella disk beads which are similar to other Love- lock specimens (Bennyhoff and Heizer 1958:Fig. 1, No. 41). One of the specimens found in 1969 is shown in Fig. 1g. The strung fragments are thought to be portions of a necklace or of a bracelet.1 The cordage has been identified as probably Asclepias speciosa (Daniel Franck, personal The desiccated mummy of an infant, presumably from Lovelock Cave, displayed in the Nevada State Historical Society Museum in Reno, has on its wrist a bracelet made of beads that appear to be strung Olivella shells. -39- communication, 1970) and is two-ply S-twist. Three cords are used, with the bead strung on the middle cord of each braid.2 Both the three plait braid and the single element "crochet" technique allow the disk beads to lie flat and overlap one another, forming a "shingling" effect. Examples of shingl- ing of rectangular Olivella beads attached to a textile surface are known in Central California from site NR-236 (Carquinez Mound, Solano County) (Gifford 1947:96, Fig. 35, Type X3al) and from the Walker Slough Mound ( Meredith 1900:275, Fig. 413). From another portion of Lovelock Cave in 1969 (area "AN") came a string of 15 short Dentalium beads (Fig. lh). These were examined by Dr. Rudolf Stohler, Department of Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, but are so beachworn that species identification could not be made. The beads are threaded on an S-twist two-ply cord of dicotyledon fiber, pro- bably Asclepias speciosa (identification by D. Franck, personal communi- cation, 1970). Braid was commonly used by the cave's inhabitants. The 142 pieces of braid found at this site include examples of 3,5,6,7,16, and 18 strand braid (Loud and Harrington 1929:82-83). -40- EXPLANATION OF FIGURES Fig. la: Two cords laid parallel forming a flat background against which rests one side of the strung bead. A third cord is tied around the other two employing two overhand knots. Lowie Museum No. 1-10345 (after Loud and Harrington 1929:10, Fig. 17a and pl. 53a). Fig. lb: Variation of three cord stringing in which only a single overhead knot is employed. Lowie Museum No. 1-19343 (after Loud and Harrington 1929:105, Figs. 17b and pl. 53b). Fig. lc: Single element "crochet" stitch. Lowie Museum No. 1-19344 (after Loud and Harrington 1929:105, Fig. 17c). Fig. Id: Detail of tying Olivella shells to a base composed of two cords. Museum of the American Indian No. 13/4654 (after Orchard 1929:23, Fig. 8). Fig le: Method of assembling shells with a "crochet-like" stitch. Museum of the American Indian No. 13/4653 (after Orchard 1929:23, Fig. 9). Fig. lf: Disk beads employing the same stitch as in Fig. le. Museum of the American Indian No. 13/4660 (after Orchard 1929:24, Fig. 11). Fig. lg: Disk beads employing a three plait braid. UCB Lovelock Cave (NV-Ch-18) Field Catalog 1968-1969, specimen No. 37:815. Fig. lh: Strung Dentalium beads on a single cord. UCB Lovelock Cave (NV-Ch-18) Field Catalog 1968-1969, specimen No. 53:1204. -41- a b C d h f 0 3 9 cm. Fig. 1. Bead stringing methods, Lovelock Cave, Nevada. -42- BIBLIOGRAPHY Bennyhof f, J. and R. F. Heizer 1958 Cross-Dating Great Basin Sites by Californian Shell Beads. Univ. of Calif. Arch. Survey Report No. 42:60-92. Grosscup, G. L. 1960 The Culture History of Lovelock Cave, Nevada. Univ. of Calif. Arch. Survey Report No. 52. Gifford, E. W. 1947 California Shell Artifacts. Univ. of Calif. Anthropological Records, Vol. 9, No. 1. Loud, L. L. and M. R. Harrington 1929 Lovelock Cave. Univ. of Calif. Publi. in American Arch. and Ethnology Vol. 25, No. 1. Meredith, 1900 H. C. Archaeology of Central and Northern California. Section IX of Warren K. Moorehead (ed.) Prehistoric Implements. The Robert Clark Co. Cincinnati. Orchard, W. C. 1929 Beads and Beadwork of the American Indians. Contributions of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, Vol. 11. New York. -43-