Shell money most valued by the Native American tribes of the Pacific Coast from Alaska to northwest California was "Dentalium shell", a species of long narrow marine shelled mollusk, a tusk shell or scaphopod. The tusk shell is naturally open at both ends, and can easily be strung on a thread. This shell money was valued by its length rather than the exact number of shells; the "ligua", the highest denomination in their currency, was a length of about 6 inches. Farther south, in central California and southern California, the shell of the olive snail "Olivella biplicata" was used to make beads
Chimú culture only identified and discussed very few specific shell workshops. One workshop, which was thought to be maintained by the Chimú people, was identified at Túcume in the Lambayeque Region of Peru by archaeologist and researcher Daniel Sandweiss. Dating back to around 1390-1480 A.D., the workshop comprised various small rooms and contained evidence for the production of "Spondylus" beads. Shell debris from all stages of production, ranging from cut pieces to finished beads, along with the stone tools used to work the shell, were excavated from the site. While many archaeological sources point to the abundance of shell-working, as the remains