Beads - Hair Pipe

These hair pipe beads are made out of shell. The 4 beads are strung onto a medium length string which either makes a necklace or bracelet. In contrast with the breastplate, which was always a man's ornament, the necklace of hair pipes continued to be worn by both men and women in the period 1880-1910.

Source: http://www.sil.si.edu/digitalcollections/bae/bulletin164/section4.htm