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Article: Wampum
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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WAMPUM
WAMPUM.
The beads known as wampum were of great value to the American Indians of the eastern Great Lakes and New England regions. The word itself is from the Algonquian language, and the concept of wampum first appeared among the Algonquian-speakers of the eastern woodlands. The strings of wampum, smoothly polished tubular and disc beads of white, purple, and blue shells, placed on carefully woven threads, were manufactured by coastal New England Indians who traded them with Iroquois and other peoples of the interior. Wampum was valued by them as a sacred marker of prestige. ...