White clam rose shell necklace adorned with brown and beige heishi beads.

• Length – 18″
• Due to the natural shells and stones, each necklace will vary slightly
• Screw closure
• You will receive one necklace

Heishi (pronounced “hee shee”) are small disc or tube-shaped beads made of organic shells or ground and polished stones. They come from the Kewa Pueblo people (formerly Santo Domingo Pueblo) of New Mexico, before the use of metals in jewelry by that people. The name is the word for shell bead in the Eastern Keresan language of the Santo Domingo Indians.

The oldest specimens of heishi date back to around 6000 BCE, although the same technique was used in northern Africa 30,000 years ago, using ostrich eggshell.