Finding Shell Fragments

[GrouseMan]

Question on shells. I live near the coast in Delaware. I've only been on one dig and found some flakes and chips. Nearby, I found random clam shell fragments about 6 to 12" deep. I recently got permission on another property that seems like it would be good. The owner said when they were digging a post hole, they pulled up some clam shell bits.

My question is, when you find clam shells buried in the soil like this, are they indicative of old Native American land use? Or is there some natural process that random clam shell bits end up in the soil?

 

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[Gene Mean]

Clam shells and other shells have been used to amend the soil with minerals to improve crops for I would say centuries. So probably indicative of habitation by someone.

 

[smokeythecat]

In Delaware, both could be true. Natives and colonists used the clams and oysters en masse. Also, Delaware has extensive fossil beds which contain fossilized shells.

 

[GrouseMan]

In Delaware, both could be true. Natives and colonists used the clams and oysters en masse. Also, Delaware has extensive fossil beds which contain fossilized she

Clam shells and other shells have been used to amend the soil with minerals to improve crops for I would say centuries. So probably indicative of habitation by someone.

Interesting. Historic aerials don’t show any old farms on the land, but it is near a creek. I’m supposing it may have been Native American.

 

[Tnmountains]

Here the mussel shells were piled 20 feet deep. It was ancient mans trash pile and sometimes its burial ground.
Colonials also used to carry these shells and make buttons if not fossils they are there by man.

 

[joshuaream]

Interesting. Historic aerials don’t show any old farms on the land, but it is near a creek. I’m supposing it may have been Native American.

How far back do the aerials go for your area? Delaware was settled pretty early on by Europeans.

I generally like shell layers or some noticeable shell bits in the soil. I've dug on sites in quite a few places, and only once did we hit a shell layer that a local digger said was a bad sign for finding relics. (Not quite fossil shells, but it was the top of a shell bed that was usually sterile until you got down to fossils.)

 

[Older The Better]

For what it’s worth shell around here (ks) is about as good a sign as finding flakes, but sounds like costal areas have a little different situations

 

[Charl]

I often come across plowed up refuse pits in fields I walk. It’s a good sign. These are coastal sites and the pits are primarily shellfish refuse. In one such field, the soil is no better than beach sand. Combined with lime from the shell refuse, and the non acidic sandy soil, I’m able to find pottery sherds preserved, from broken pottery tossed into the refuse. Otherwise, pottery is rare here, due to acidic soil.

In general, if I see a lot of shell scatter in sections of a field, I do generally take that as a good sign. One can also find shell awls/pins, usually whittled down from whelk shell columns, and finding many whelk columns is itself often indicative of the production of white wampum, the whelk columns used to make white beads, the deep purple of quahog shells used to make the more prized purple wampum.

These whelk columns were found at a wampum producing work station. Either white disc beads or white tubular beads would be the result….

 

[RGINN]

In SW Oklahoma, spotting pieces of shell are an indicator of a former camp. They harvested mussels for food, and would also use the shell as temper in their pottery.