The genus Lunatia may also be a candidate....also in the same family and it
lives nearby.  The adults are huge (3-4 inches) and would make a hefty
necklace, but.......juveniles could have been used.  Historically,
Polinices, Natica and Lunatia (and others) were all called Natica, so
without seeing the critter(s)......You may wish to contact Dr. Bill
Marquardt (one of the curators here) at [log in to unmask] He may be
able to enighten you further on the human uses of naticoids......Kurt


At 03:44 PM 12/20/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Thanks for the info.  I am curious about the use of Natica for beads.  I am
>unaware of this genera being used by Native Americans in the northeast.  Is
>it possible that these could be of African or Caribbean origin?  Does anyone
>know of Natica shells used by the indigenous cultures of these areas? Again,
>thanks for any insight.
>
>Jason R. Mancini, Staff Archaeologist
>Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center
>110 Pequot Trail, Mashantucket, CT 06339-3180
>tel. 860.396.6802  fax  860.396.6914
>[log in to unmask]
>
>
>        -----Original Message-----
>        From:   Monfils, Paul [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>        Sent:   Monday, December 20, 1999 3:22 PM
>        To:     [log in to unmask]
>        Subject:        Re: Natica beads
>
>        The genus Natica is in the family Naticidae, commonly known as moon
>snails.
>        This genus is not native to Connecticut, except for a couple of
>small deep
>        water species which would not be likely sources of bead material.
>Two
>        possibilities come to mind.  The beads you mentioned may have been
>made from
>        Polinices duplicatus, which is not a true Natica, but is a member of
>the
>        moon snail family, and is common in shallow water in Connecticut.
>Or, the
>        beads or shells may have come from farther down the coast, around
>Florida,
>        where true Natica shells are available.
>        Paul M.
>        >
>