Necklace

A Hupa necklace of nineteen separate strands of white dentalium shells alternating with glass beads. Collected from the owner Shoemaker Robinson at the Hoopa Valley Reservation in California. Dentalium shells were used as a form of currency among the Hupa, but shells that were too short be used as money were instead used for ceremonial necklaces, which were worn by Hupa men during world-renewal rites.