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Miwok Material Culture: Indian Life of the Yosemite Region (1933) by S. A. Barrett and E. W. Gifford


OLIVE SHELL DISKS

Olive shell disk beads (tunni, C) came from the south as a rule, though sometimes the Central Miwok made them. Often a southerner would bring a string of them to a Miwok friend. After drilling the disks the edges were rubbed smooth on a rock. They were strung on string, made of either a man’s or a woman’s hair.

They were measured by the lua (C), that is, the distance from the nipple to the holding thumb and forefinger of the outstretched arm on the opposite side of the body. A lua of olive shell disks was worth five dollars or a fine basket. Their value was only half that of clam shell disks. Brown and white glass beads, obtained from Caucasians, were measured by the lua.



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