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Wampum

For the borough in Western Pennsylvania, see Wampum, Pennsylvania.

Quahog and whelk wampum
A representation of the original Two Row Wampum treaty belt
The process to make wampum was labor-intensive with stone tools. Only the coastal tribes had sufficient access to the basic shells to make wampum. These factors increased its scarcity and consequent value among the European traders. Wampum Georgina Ontario[clarification needed]

Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans. It includes white shell beads hand-fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell and white and purple beads made from the quahog or Western North Atlantic hard-shelled clam.

In New York, wampum beads have been discovered dating before 1510.[1] Before European contact, strings of wampum were used for storytelling, ceremonial gifts, and recording important treaties and historical events, such as the Two Row Wampum Treaty[2][3] and the Hiawatha Belt. Wampum was also used by the northeastern Indigenous tribes as a means of exchange,[4] strung together in lengths for convenience. The first colonists understood it as a currency and adopted it as such in trading with them. Eventually, the colonists applied their technologies to more efficiently produce wampum, which caused inflation and ultimately its obsolescence as currency.[5] [better source needed] Wampum artists continue to weave belts of a historical nature, as well as designing new belts or jewelry based on their own concepts.[6]

  1. ^ Dubin, Lois Sherr. North American Indian Jewelry and Adornment: From Prehistory to the Present. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1999: 170–171. ISBN 0-8109-3689-5.
  2. ^ Bonaparte, Darren (2005). "The Two Row Wampum Belt: An Akwesasne Tradition". The Wampum Chronicles. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  3. ^ Bonaparte, Darren (August 9, 2013). "The Disputed Myth, Metaphor and Reality of the Two Row Wampum". The Wampum Chronicles. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  4. ^ Nick Szabo (2002). "Shelling Out: The Origins of Money". nakamotoinstitute.org.
  5. ^ Saifedean Ammous. The Bitcoin Standard The Decentralized Alternative To Central Banking.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference perry was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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