Santander, February 19th-22nd 2008 - Aranzadi

Shell beads in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B in Central Levant: Cypraeidae of Tell Aswad (Damascus, Syria)
97
(Goren et al. 2001), no cowrie shells were used to
model eyes of the plastered skulls found at Tell
Aswad (Stordeur and Khawam 2007).
According to the various means of attachment
(removed dorsum and perforations) as well as the
local use wear, it is obvious that the cowries found
at the site were used as beads. However, no specific
or direct information is available about the
ways in which these ornaments were used (pendants,
necklaces, belts, diadems, buttons, etc.).
Nevertheless, some suggestions can be made.
For one cowrie, the presence of incisions on the
ventral and lateral faces clearly indicates the exposition
of these anatomical parts. The location of the
perforations, the use wear of the aperture extremities
and the dorsum removal imply also that the
cowries were tied to another material (leather, clothes,
etc.) and/or were connected to other beads.
The exceptional cowrie n°33 offers some interesting
indications about a possible attachment
system. The V-shaped use wear pattern observed
on the anterior extremity of the aperture indicates
that a string was tied at this place and was pulled
out in two opposite directions.
Finally, the data collected for the exceptional
discovery of the three cowrie beads found in association
(n°9, 42 and 43) are not sufficient to deduce
a possible system of attachment. However, it
has been already noted that the cowries n°42 and
43 share the same pattern on their ventral perforations:
a shallow notch, oriented in the same direction
in both cases and probably produced by the
action of a string, was observed on their perimeter.
5. CONCLUSIONS
The original shape of the cowries of Tell Aswad
was modified in various manners and degrees.
Three principal sets of operations can be defined:
dorsum removal, perforations and incisions. For
the first category, grinding and hammering techniques
have been identified. Perforations by drilling
were made on the ventral face. For one cowrie,
holes were made by percussion on its non-removed
dorsum. Relatively deep and long incisions
were engraved on the ventral and lateral faces of
two specimens. Local surface wear observed on
some cowries could be indicative of the attachment
system employed to hang the beads.
The presence of cowrie shells at Tell Aswad
can be considered a common cultural point between
the Southern and Northern Levant PPNB
sites. All the shells were identified as Erosaria spurca
except one as Luria lurida. These two species
originated in the Mediterranean Sea, about 110 km
east from the site. One shell, identified as
Monetaria moneta, comes from the Red Sea. Tell
Aswad is about 500 km from the Red Sea (Aqaba).
Some of the cowrie shells found at the site of Tell
Halula, in the Northern Levant, belong to both Red
and Mediterranean seas (M. Molist, personal communication).
This attests that cowry shells were
part of a long distance system of exchange and
circulation of various items and raw materials. The
cowrie shells from the village of Tell Aswad were
transformed and fitted to be suspended and tied.
One of these beads was beautifully engraved. This
feature is one of the most original aspects for shell
beads of the PPNB period. Up to now, decorated
cowries have never been mentioned elsewhere in
the Neolithic Near East.
In some Northern Levant sites, such as Tell
Halula, cowries are mainly found in funerary context.
In Southern Levant, some of them were
employed as eyes in large human figurines or in
plastered skulls which is not the case at Tell
Aswad. At this site, only one cowrie bead was
found associated with a human skeleton whereas
the remaining collection was discovered in various
domestic contexts: dwellings, refuse areas, pits,
etc. Further comparative study within my PhD framework
with the huge collection of cowries from
Tell Halula (about 300 specimens) could enlighten
the remaining issues.
6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Dr. Danielle Stordeur for
giving me the opportunity to study the bead collection
of Tell Aswad, Lionel Gourichon and Claudine
Maréchal for their helpful advice. I am very grateful
for Dr. David S. Reese who made the taxonomical
identifications of the cowry shells. Many thanks
also to Dr. Frank Hole for introducing me to this
eminent researcher. Finally, I thank the laboratory
of Archéorient (Lyon) for the financial support for
my participation in the 2nd Archaeomalacology
Working Group.
7. BIBLIOGRAPHY
BAR-YOSEF, D. E.
1991 “Changes in the Selection of Marine Shells During the
Transition from the Natufian to the Neolithic”. In: Valla, F. &
Bar-Yosef, O. (eds.): The Natufian Culture in the Levant.
International Monographs in Prehistory (Archaeological
Series 1), Ann Arbor: 629–636.
1997 “Neolithic Shell Bead Production in Sinai”. Journal of
Archaeological Science, 24: 97–111.
MUNIBE Suplemento - Gehigarria 31, 2010
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