In my original comment, I stated that mother-of-pearl was not available. Abalone was and was used especially in NW Coast carvings. Trade did not stop there, however. Abalone shell can also be found in some Mississippian cultural pieces and in the SW, though more turquoise was traded and more abalone seen in the NW coast. Mother-of-pearl is found in the region of Indonesia-Philippines. Although it is possible that it could have been traded by Spanish galleon, it was not much used until the turn of the 20c.
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