Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology

Olivella-shell grooved rectangular beads, or N series beads as classified by Bennyhoff and Hughes (1987), are the oldest Olivella wall beads in central California, dating to a narrow time-frame during the mid-Holocene. This bead type, thought to have originated in the southern Santa Barbara Channel islands, has been identified across a wide geographical area, including most of central and southern California and portions of Nevada and southeastern Oregon. Used by some to argue for a Middle Holocene Uto-Aztecan socioeconomic interaction sphere, we demonstrate that their broad geographical range is simply a barometer of the widespread transmission of cultural knowledge and the establishment of extensive trade networks circa 5,000 years ago. We also present new isotopic data that suggest that at least some of these beads were manufactured from shells obtained north of Point Conception, beyond the greater Santa Barbara Channel region.