Wampum Wampum Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of American Indians. It includes the white shell beads fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell and the white and purple beads made from the quahog or Western North Atlantic hard-shelled clam. It was used by the northeastern Indian tribes as a form of gift exchange, and the colonists adopted it as currency in trading with them. Eventually, the colonists developed more efficient methods of producing wampum, which caused inflation and ultimately its obsolescence as currency. Wampum was often kept on strings like Chinese cash. Before European
Puka shell because they were naturally pierced, which enabled them to be strung like beads. Puka shell jewellery first became a popular item in Hawaii during the 1960s, as an attractive and inexpensive lei which could be made and sold on the beach where it was made. In the 1970s, this type of shell jewelry became highly sought after, and prices skyrocketed. The craftsmanship also became more refined and the "lei pūpū puka", puka shell leis were strung in graduated or matching styles, rather than the original random patterns. Many "legends" about the puka shell were created during this time, and these