Wampum is the Nargansett word which means ‘white shell beads’ (Prindle, 1994-2003). It is a collection of small beads made from shells that were found in great numbers along the coasts of Rhode Island, southern Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the northern shore of Long Island. The true shells were a rare find anywhere north of Cape Cod. The shells could be found a little below the surface of the water or on the mud (Scozzari, 2003)

There are two types of wampum beads. The white ones, called ‘wompam’ come from the Whelk shell or ‘meteaûhock’. ‘Suckáuhock’ are the purple (and sometimes black) beads that come from the Quahog shell’s growth rings. The Quahog shell is referred to as ‘suckauanaûsuck’ in the Iroquois language. These beads were not made of porcelain, periwinkle shell or bone as some historic documents have stated. Periwinkle could not yet be found in that area, as it was only introduced in the late 1800's (Prindle, 1994-2003).

Some wampum beads which were approximately 4 500

Some topics in this essay:
Francis Jennings, SIC Creator, Cape Cod, War Scozzari, America American, Late Woodland, Europeans Eventually, Spirit Freeman, Whelk Quahog, Original People, prindle 1994-2003, wampum beads, geise 1995-1996, scozzari 2003, 1994-2003 wampum, prindle 1994-2003 wampum, millimetres diameter, five millimetres diameter, five millimetres, freeman 2003, prindle 1994-2003 purple, white beads, purple wampum, 1994-2003 wampum beads, length five millimetres,