a necklace made of imitation human jaws.
----imitation???
Yes, imitation... Indians in Ohio were known to make imitation grizzly teeth ornaments from bon. Real grizzly teeth were found there too, probably traded from the west, but were probably pricey, thus the need to make imitations to fill “demand.”
Indians in ancient Cahokia on the Mississippi River made imitation shark’s teeth to mount in war clubs or ceremonial war clubs. They had obtained real shark’s teeth too, from their trading network with both coasts, but the real thing was probably difficult to come by and other high status individuals may have made or had imitations made from white chert to keep up with the Joneses.
Hopewell Indians in Ohio had a thing for jaws too...
They made ornaments from worked-down animal jaws and wolf masks which included the jaws, worked down so the wearer could hold the jawbone in his mouth as an extension of his own teeth. The wearers, probably shaman, would even have their own front teeth knocked out to make room for the wolf “dentures” to improve the realism of their effort to transform from humans to wolves before the eyes of their people.
Human palates with all the teeth were also made into ornaments though it is not known if these were the treasured remains of naturally deceased people, even loved ones, or trophies of war. They really weren’t known for their warfare as later people were, so it way well be a way of honoring their dead.