Shell

Christine H. Virden-Lange has more than 20 years of experience conducting identification and analysis of marine and freshwater shell species found at prehistoric and historic sites in the Southwest United States. She has an interest in the use of shell during the Early Agricultural period, shell production and exchange networks, and ornament production techniques.

Ms. Virden-Lange uses both macroscopic and microscopic techniques to observe species-diagnostic structural attributes, as well as the traces left on shell ornaments that reveal details of prehistoric people’s manufacturing techniques. In addition to performing the shell analysis for assemblages recovered during Desert Archaeology’s excavations, she has helped analyze and document artifacts in legacy collections, including those from the Phoenix-area Hohokam settlement of Snaketown and the late Mogollon Grasshopper Pueblo in east-central Arizona.

She is available to conduct species identification and worked shell artifact analysis on a contract basis. Email us for availability, scheduling, and current rates.