Most of the early peoples of the Gulf of Mexico coast used large marine
mollusks for many different purposes, i.e. hoes, drinking vessels, trading
items.  They usually used Busycon, but an occasional Pleuroploca pops up.
Many of the Mississipian sites in the central portions of the US contain
remains of Busycon, obviously traded by peoples of the gulf region.  Not
much has been said about the ceremonial uses of marine mollusks in the
Florida groups, at least not as much as in other cultures, but surely
mollusks played some role in ceremony.
The shell mounds of Florida are legendary.  These are bascially garbage
heaps of many generations of Native Americans.  Some cover many, many acres
and attain great heights.  Our zooarchaeologists have learned a bunch of
good stuff about these people through analysis of the remains found in the
shell mounds, at least those not used for roadfill over the last 75 years.
 
Kurt
 
At 08:33 AM 4/23/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Dear friends:
>
>
>For the old american cultures, (aztec, teotihuacan, mixtec and others in
>Mesoamerica) the shell is symbol of water, fertility, life.  The god Tlaloc,
>"Lord of the waters",  has the sea shell (white scallops,  and others)
like one
>of his representations.
>
>Some shells, (Strombus,  Turbinella), where used like trumpets, calling
for the
>rain to the four cardinal points. The sound of the shells signified the "sea
>sound", and the "thunder sound".
>
>Between the  mayan and the centro-american cultures, the red spondylus
were used
>like ofrend - sacrifice to the death priests and gobernants. May be were used
>like substitute to the human blood. Also, some nacareus oisters were used
like
>tribute to the death god.
>
>?somebody has information about the north-american cultures ?
>
>Jorge Mendez
>