5 Olivella biplicata Californian seashells

Description

5  Olivella biplicata Californian seashells from the beaches of Fort Bragg, California
Olivella biplicata
,
common names
the "purple dwarf olive" "purple olive shell" or "purple olivella" is a
species
of small
predatory
sea snail
, a
marine
gastropod
mollusc
in the
family
Olivellidae
, the dwarf olives.
Native people of central and southern
California
used the shell of this species to make decorative beads for at least the last 9,000 years.
[2]
Such beads have been discovered in archaeological contexts as far inland as Idaho and Arizona.
[3]
Within the past 1,000 years these beads began to be manufactured in large quantities on southern California's
Santa Barbara Channel Islands
, indicating that they were used for
shell money
.
[4]
The historic
Chumash people
called them
anchum
.
[5]