Thank you, Stefany, for your knowledgeable comment.

As a matter of fact, I had these beads for years -- since I got them from the estate of famous turn-of-the-century dancer Tórtola Valencia -- but I was taken back because of the technical problems involved in stringing. Both the nails and bone cylinders, which are empty and have thin walls, have been stuffed with the dried up vegetable fiber from a creeper found in the woods of South Eastern Asia islands, then sealed with bee wax. And yes, the gut cord has enough "nerve" to keep the whole set in place.

I still do not know which animal these relics belonged to -- perhaps an oversized bird? I will thank any info.