Shell Bead Currency (Wampum)

Timeline

1. c. 1600–1635Long Island and coastal shell-gathering sites · Long IslandPurple and white shells were ground, drilled, and strung into belts and necklaces, used in alliance ceremonies, wedding gifts, and to record oaths and historical events in bead patterns.
2. c. 1640–1650New Netherland and Iroquois trade corridors · New NetherlandDutch and English merchants used wampum to purchase furs, settle debts, and pay laborers, while colonial authorities also used bead strings as treaty deposits; wampum became the core medium of exchange in cross-cultural trade.
3. c. 1650–1670New England coast · New EnglandColonial workshops introduced drilling machinery to expand output, with purple and white beads establishing a fixed exchange ratio; wampum circulated over a wider area while triggering depletion of shell resources and fluctuations in value.