Shell Pendant or Bead from Ecuador

This pendant or bead was made from a shell and dates back to the 3rd millennium BCE. Found in Ecuador, it was likely made by the Valdivia culture, a people who lived on the western coast and mainly subsisted off fishing and farming and flourished between the years of 3500 BCE - 1500 BCE. The Valdivia are mostly known for their ceramics, including an impressive number of female figures made from clay. This bead, which is about two inches in length, demonstrates that there was likely a tradition of personal adornment present in this early settled population.