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Prehistoric Wampum

Prehistoric Wampum. Shell beads have long had cultural significance to the Native Americans. Shell beads in the Northeast have been found that are 4500 years old. Traditional Wampum.

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Prehistoric Wampum

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  1. Prehistoric Wampum • Shell beads have long had cultural significance to the Native Americans. Shell beads in the Northeast have been found that are 4500 years old.

  2. Traditional Wampum • Shell beads come in many traditional shapes and sizes, including small discs or hishi beads. Before contact with Europeans, shell beads were either disk shaped, or barrel shaped. Other shapes of shell beads include tubes, and other forms resembling a ball, cone, diamond, square, or hourglass.

  3. Wampum beads • The word "Wampum" comes from the Narragansett word for 'white shell beads'. Wampum beads are made in two colors: white ("Wòmpi") beads ("Wompam") from the Whelk shell ("Meteaûhock"), and purple-black ("Súki") beads ("Suckáuhock") from the growth rings of the Quahog shell ("Suckauanaûsuck")

  4. Iroquois Wampum • The Iroquois had no writing system, so they depended upon the spoken word to pass down their history, traditions, and rituals. As an aid to memory, the Iroquois used shells and beads which were arranged on belts in designs representing events of significance.

  5. Iroquois Wampum Legend • One legend tells how the Iroquois hero Hiawatha, while travelling through the territory of the Mohawks, came to the edge of a great lake. As he was wondering how to cross it, a huge flock of ducks descended on the lake and began to drink the water. When the birds rose up again, the lake was dry and its bed was covered with shells. From these shells Hiawatha made the first wampum beads and used them to unite the tribes in peace.

  6. Wampum as $? • Native Indians did not use wampum as currency. • Dutch traders had encountered wampum and adopted it as a money substitute.

  7. Wampum tells a story • The Iroquois used Wampum for many generations for a number of reasons, from decoration, to governmental use, to religious ceremonies. One of the major uses of Wampum was to record significant events in Iroquois history. • Individuals would use a Wampum belt or string to tell their own personal story.

  8. What’s your Story?String the “wampum beads” to tell your story. • String the wampum beads to create your own life story. • Yellow = travel • Blue = water • Red = danger • Orange = fear • Green = earth • Purple = courage • White = animal • Black = sadness • Pink = happiness • Aqua = family

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