Abstract
There are about 103 shellmounds so far found in Japan which produce Haliotidae. Almost all of them are "H. gigantea GMELIN" We have few records available reporting how they were discovered. But it is most probable that the prehistoric men were attracted by the pearly colour of this shell. These ancient people adopted them as food and then as materials of implements and ornaments, lastly as a charm attributing some magic power. We Japanese use "Noshi", the animal of the shell boiled and dried, as a indication of presents. This custom is believed to originate in very early times. It is presumed that in earlier ages their consumers were limited to coast-side inhabitants who collected those shells in the neighboring sea and then the demand expanded to the inland areas in the later prehistoric ages. Some of these cases suggest us the way and the speed of the transportation of this kind of shells.
