Thursday, November 19, 2009

Wampum

Narragansett Bay provided the Indians with more than food; they used the shells of small quahaugs and periwinkles to make wampum, which they used as tokens of peace at treaty arrangements and as gifts of honor amongst themselves.

According to Roger Williams, three small beads of Poquauhock shell were worth one English penny and were twice as valuable as the white beads made from the periwinkle. Until recent times, Apponaug, now part of the city of Warwick, retained an ancient heap of quahaug shells several hundred feet in length.

-- Narragansett Bay: A friend's perspective

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