Wampum: Part IX

Wampum is, strictly speaking, a string of white beads, typically made from the shells of mollusks indigenous to the seacoasts of eastern North America. The beads were prized by Native Americans as ornament for the body or for weaving into fabric, and they were valued as "shell money" or "currency" in barter. Some have claimed that only white beads are properly called wampum, but those made from the purple of clam shells have also been included, and with post-Columbian blue glass beads, they were even more highly prized. Belts made from beads, known as wampum belts, were used on great ceremonial occasions, such as the making of treaties. They were used, rather than signed paper, to seal and solemnize events. Miles, Charles, “Indian & Eskimo Artifacts of North America,” New York: Bonanza Bo…