Shell Cameo Pendant

It’s March, which here in Arkansas means it’s Archeology Month. To celebrate we are taking a look at one of our Spiro Mounds artifacts, this shell cameo pendant.

Located in what is known today as the state of Oklahoma, far to the eastern edge, in the rich bottomlands of the Arkansas River sits the 150-acre archeological preservation site of Spiro Mounds. Once a thriving cultural hub, Spiro Mounds was home to an estimated 10,000 Caddoan-speaking people. These Mississippian period (800-1450 CE) “…people created a sophisticated culture which influenced the entire Southeast. Artifacts indicate an extensive trade network, a highly-developed religious center, and a political system which controlled the entire region” (OHS).

This shell cameo pendant is an example of just how far that trade network and influence went. Believed to be one of only five shell cameo pieces, this pendant is likely made from lightning whelk, a carnivorous, shelled marine snail found in the Gulf of Mexico. What made the lightning whelk so desired outside of its watery homelands may have had something to do with the unique way in which the shell spiraled, counterclockwise, opening on the left (also known as a sinistral spiral). Even without fully understanding why these specific shells were sought, we know from the sheer distance they traveled to get to Spiro that they were a prized possession and would have been only intended for an elite member of society.

Spiro Mounds shows us evidence of a highly ranked society, the mounds either being the home or burial sites of leaders, or religious and ceremonial temples.; the everyday populace relegated to the flat plains and community cemeteries. This particular pendant isn’t the only example of prestige found at Spiro. In fact, Spiro is considered unique among the Mississippian Mound builders in that the Craig Mound, Spiro’s only burial mound, housed one of the largest troves of art and artifacts ever unearthed in North America.

Pipes, weapons, beads, baskets, furs, clothing, and more were found in Craig Mound. Unfortunately, long before legislation put protections over the mounds and surrounding area, major looting took place.  “From 1933 until 1935 Pocola employees dug haphazardly into the burial mound. During two years the commercial diggers destroyed about one-third of the mound and sold thousands of artifacts” (Peterson). Eventually, the University of Oklahoma would team up with Works Progress Administration to investigate, gather, and catalogue what remained of Spiro until work was interrupted by World War II. The land would end up back in the hands of local farmers until the 60s. In 1978 the Spiro Mounds Archaeological State Park opened “as the first, and still only, Oklahoma prehistoric American Indian archaeological site open to the public” (Peterson).

We live in a rare time that allows us access to protected spaces for continued research. Though there is much we still don’t comprehend about Spiro, we may continue learning using ethically driven archeology. Research is still being conducted on this very artifact. We invite you to take advantage of the opportunity to view it and to check back regularly to see if any new information has come to light.

Work Cited:

Archaeology and Looting | Spiro Exhibition. (n.d.). Spiro Exhibition. Retrieved February 27, 2024, from https://www.spiromounds.com/collection/archaeology-looting

Peterson, D. (n.d.). Spiro Mounds. Oklahoma Historical Society | OHS. Retrieved February 27, 2024, from https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=SP012

Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center | Oklahoma Historical Society. (n.d.). Oklahoma Historical Society | OHS. Retrieved February 27, 2024, from https://www.okhistory.org/sites/spiromounds

M.Gibson