| First you'd have to have an idea how far back they could drill; drilling could be as old as the pleistocene. The oldest pearls found so far were drilled...... Carved MOP was found in Egypt as far back as 4,500 BC Pearl bearing mollusks were used by Egyptians as early as the 4th millenium, BC - Egyptians do not seem tohave used perls much (Strack p 17)
Read the pages on the Yaqui on Douglas' website. When the Yaquis met the Spaniards the chief was covered with pearls and MOP carvings. The application of same would have been done with pre-Conquest techniques.
Sounds like you have hit on a good project for a PhD
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Caitlin  potamilus purpuratus American Pearl Mussel Where can I get a pearl from this mussel?
Last edited by Caitlin; 09-13-2007 at 06:20 PM.
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