Shell Bracelets in Prehistoric Philipines

The holiday season is just around the corner! It’s that time of the year when we put on our best clothes for merry-making. Other than offering body protection from the environment, clothing is one of several means for people to express themselves. Body adornments, such as jewelry, are usually worn as an extension of clothing and enhance an individual’s look. Today’s #TrowelTuesday features shell ornaments—bracelets in particular—from the National Archaeological Collection!

Did you know that the oldest articles of jewelry were fashioned out of shells? Among these were beads made from the shells of dog whelks (Tritia gibbosula), a type of marine snail. The shell beads, dating to at least 142,000 years ago, were excavated at the Bizmoune Cave in Morocco. Archaeologists believed that these perforated shells, which could have been worn strung together, conveyed the wearer’s individual or group identity. 

In the Philippines, shell ornaments such as beads, bracelets, and pendants were recovered from several archaeological sites, with the earliest dating to 4,700 years ago in Duyong Cave. Specifically, shell bracelets possibly emerged in the archipelago around 3,500 years ago, as evidenced by shell artifacts recovered from Leta Leta Cave in northern Palawan. 

Shell bracelets are made from different types of shells such as cone snails, limpets, top snails, and giant clams, each exhibiting varieties of form and design across time and space. Their technology and usage seem to have persisted until the arrival of the Spanish. In fact, until the 20th century, anthropologists still documented a few indigenous communities manufacturing shell bracelets. An example of such a bracelet is displayed at the Lumad Mindanao Gallery of the National Museum of Anthropology.

Visit these artifacts at the National Museum of Anthropology! Open Tuesdays to Sundays, from 9AM to 6PM. Admission is FREE!

#NationalMuseumPH #ShellBracelets