Conch Daggers

Comments by Henk K. Mienis

 

Conchdaggers i.e. pointed weapons made out of the shell of Strombus in general and Strombus gigas in particular.
Robert G. Moolenbeek has traced some archaeological records concerning this subject from the Antilles (in press in the C.B. Ned. Malac. Ver., which is the newsletter of the Dutch Malacological Society).
Today I came across an article dealing with Strombus gigas on the internet referring to weapons made out of the Queenconch in Miami some 3000 years ago. In Sea-Stats No. 14 - Queen Conch (www.epa.gov/gumpo/seast14.html), V.N. Stewart writes:
".....A Miami excavation had evidence of use of conch 3000 years ago. The shells were widely used as cooking pots and parts of shells were used as chisels, knives, scrapers and hooks, as well as important personal adornment items, such as necklaces, pendants, earrings and buttons. They were also used as ceremonial items and "trumpets".
The exact source for this information is not clear from the list of references.