Oldest known giant rock scallop bead suggests California coastal trade began millennia earlier

Archaeologists have discovered giant rock scallop beads that push back the timeline for coastal trade in ancient California. Per Phys.org, these high-status marine ornaments were traded across hundreds of miles, revealing that such commerce existed thousands of years earlier than documented in the archaeological record. The discovery suggests organized exchange was functioning in the region much deeper in human history than previously recognized.

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