AMS Radiocarbon Dating of Giant Rock Scallop Beads from the Interior of California’s Southern Coast Range

Radiocarbon dating of two giant rock scallop beads (Crassadoma gigantea, formerly Hinnites multirugosus) from southeastern Monterey County, in the interior of California’s Southern Coast Ranges, confirms the deep antiquity of these ornaments and extends their geographic range well into the interior of the state. A globular bead from CA-MNT-2318/H, the Turkey Flat Site, returned a median calibrated date of 8508 cal BP, making it the earliest known example of this form. A disc bead from CA-MNT-2308, the Lichtenstein Site, yielded a date of 3674 cal BP. Here we provide contextual and chronological information that further documents the occurrence of giant rock scallop ornaments in Early and Middle Holocene contexts, as first established by Braje et al. (2008). We also extend the known geographic range of giant rock scallop ornaments well out of the Santa Barbara Channel region where they are typically found.