Beads made from the columellæ of univalves have generally a number of distinguishing characteristics. They are large and massive, and rarely symmetrical in outline, being sections of roughly dressed columns. They are somewhat cylindrical, and often retain the spiral groove as well as other portions of the natural surface. In cases where the form is entirely artificial they may be distinguished by the sinuous character of the foliation. The perforation is nearly always with the axis of the bead, and is in most cases bi-conical. In Plate XXIX a series of cuts is given which illustrates the various methods of perforation and shows very distinctly the differences between the rude work of savages and the mechanically perfect work of modern manufacturers. Beads of this class are more decidedly aboriginal in character than those of any other group, and are without doubt of very ancient origin. They are widely distributed, and have been found in graves and mounds covering an area outlined by Massachusetts, Canada West, Minnesota, Missouri, and the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Figs. 1, 6, 7, 11, and 14 of Plate XXXIV represent typical specimens of this class. In every case they are considerably altered by decay, rarely retaining any of the original polish. All come from ancient burial mounds, some of the interments of which probably antedate, while others post-date, the coming of the whites. The bead shown in Fig. 1 is made from the columella of a _Busycon perversum_. It is a rude, tapering cylinder, with rounded ends and deep spiral groove. The perforation is bi-conical and somewhat irregular. This, with many similar beads, made of both dextral and sinistral shells, was associated with human remains in the great mound at Sevierville, Tenn. The bead illustrated in Fig. 6 has been made from the column of some dextral whorled shell. It was obtained from a mound on Lick Creek, East Tenn. It is a typical specimen of average size, and illustrates very well the large collection of this class of relics made by Dr. Troost. Fig. 7 was obtained from a mound at Franklin, Tenn. It is cut from the columella of a _Busycon perversum_, and is of the usual form, being a heavy, short cylinder, rounded at the ends until it is somewhat globular. The perforation is very large, and has been made almost entirely from one end. The surface is much weathered, the firmer _laminæ_ being distinctly relieved. Other specimens from the same locality are much smaller. Fig. 11 is from a grave in an ancient cemetery at Swanton, Vt., and is similar to the preceding, having been cut, however, if correctly represented, from a dextral whorled shell. The cut is copied from a paper by G. H. Perkins.[59]