Shell Shell scraper made from a freshwater mussel (black sandshell, Ligumia recta).

The [corn] which they boil [is] . . . tender, and with shells, which they find more convenient than knives, they cut off all the kernels, throwing away the cobs, until they have as much as they wish to cook for that day. (Pierre Delliette, 1702)

The Illinois gathered freshwater mussels from rivers and creeks located near their villages. They modified the shells of some large mussel species to create spoons and hoes. Based on early French descriptions, they also used mussel shells as scrapers for removing corn kernels from cobs at the time of the first ("green-corn") maize harvest in July.