Wampum was beads that served many needs. To the Iroquois and Algonquian's
these white and purple disc shaped beads, made from clam shells, were strung
together as a belt to be traded as gifts at ceremonies or agreements. Also they
commemorated events on them.
Wampum was not used as money or any kind of currency by Indians. The European
colonists found the Indians valued beads so they were used as a way of trading.
Dutch settler's did use them as money among themselves. They made millions of
beads and sold them to the white traders. The white traders used them to trade
with the Indians for pelts.
A whelk shell was trimmed by knocking off all but the spine with a rock, then
a hole was hand drilled into it. Sand was used to polish the beads. The whelk,
quahog clam, and conch were valued. The bead was strung on sinew.
Indian beads were usually flat, while manufactured beads were round. The
famous Hiawatha Belt was of round beads, which shows that it was made after the
Europeans had arrived.