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Shell money is a medium of exchange similar to coin money and other forms of commodity money, and was once commonly used in many parts of the world. [1] Shell money usually consisted of whole or partial sea shells , often worked into beads or otherwise shaped.
Shell jewelry is jewelry that is primarily made from seashells, the shells of marine mollusks. Shell jewelry is a type of shellcraft . One very common form of shell jewelry is necklaces that are composed of large numbers of beads , where each individual bead is the whole (but often drilled) shell of a small sea snail .
When the jewelry was removed, a potlatch was held to celebrate, and the girl would be considered eligible for marriage. [4] Athabaskan peoples of Alaska and subarctic Canada incorporate dentalium into jewelry with glass beads. Along with iron, these items were regarded as prestigious trade goods in the 19th century. [4]
Remnants of seashells that were used to make beads were also found. Oyster shell, mother of pearl, abalone, conch, and clam shells have been important trade items in the Southwest for over a thousand years. Native beadwork continued to advance in the pre-Columbian era. Beads were made from hand-ground and filed turquoise, coral, and shell.
1742 drawing of shells of the money cowrie, Monetaria moneta Cowrie shells The shells of cowries are usually smooth and shiny and more or less egg-shaped. The round side of the shell is called the Dorsal Face, whereas the flat under side is called the Ventral Face, which shows a long, narrow, slit-like opening (), which is often toothed at the edges.
In parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Monetaria annulus, the ring cowry, so-called because of the bright orange-colored ring on the back or upper side of the shell, was commonly used as shell money much like Monetaria moneta. Occasionally the ring part on its back would be hammered away, making it nearly indistinguishable from other ...
In a new study, published May 2 in the journal Antiquity, researchers examine how sound traveled across the desert landscape and how conch shells may have been used as a way to bring communities ...
Many tribes in New Guinea and other south pacific islands use the various types of Melo to make jewelry and shell money as well as canoe bailers. The large orange Melo pearls which are sometimes found were treasured especially by royalty in Vietnam in the past. [2]