A tiny handmade bead found in southeastern Monterey County, California, has given archaeologists a rare glimpse into how materials moved across the landscape more than 8,500 years ago. Made from the shell of a giant rock scallop, the ornament was discovered about 68 kilometres from the Pacific coast, far from the marine environment where the species lived.
Direct AMS radiocarbon dating placed the Turkey Flat bead at a median calibrated age of 8,508 years before present. Researchers describe it as the earliest known example of this particular globular bead form, extending the archaeological record of giant rock scallop ornaments into California's interior.
