Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans. It includes white shell beads hand-fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell and white and purple beads made from the quahog or Western North Atlantic hard-shelled clam.

Nov 20, 2024 · For thousands of years, Indigenous people of America’s northeast region have crafted small, cylindrical beads called wampum from purple and white whelk and clam shells. Often woven into...

Wampum is a vital part of Onondaga and Haudenosaunee culture. Wampum is created from the shell of a clam. The beads are cut from the white and purple parts of the shell.

WAMPUM is made from one of the hardest and most beautiful shells in the world: the Northern Quahog, a clam found along the New England coast. The white and purple layers of the shell create most beautiful patterns.

Jul 17, 2019 · A popular item to collect for coastal natives were colorful shell fragments which they would craft into beads called wampum. Wampums beads are made from broken pieces of whelk and clam shells which can be found all along our beaches.

Apr 14, 2022 · Wampum is made from two different types of shells. The white beads are made from the internal portion of the channeled whelk’s shell, while purple or black beads were made from the shell of the Quahog clam.

Aug 4, 2010 · Wampum, made from the quahog clam shell, was used by the Native American Indians prior to the arrival of the colonizing Europeans. It served as ornamentation for ceremonial dress.

Quahog clams and large whelks were of particular importance for the creation of a small bead called wampum. Wampum was and still is a cylindrical shell bead approximately 5.5 millimeters in length and 4.0 millimeters in diameter made mostly from the shells of whelk and clam.

One of the most prized and often used mollusks for wampum beads is the quahog clam (Mercenaria mercenaria). This clam, which lives in the coastal waters of the northeastern United States, has a distinctive shell that yields the purple beads.

Nov 20, 2012 · Wampum Fact 3: One of the most valued mollusks for wampum beads is the quahog clam (Mercenaria mercenaria). The quahog clam, found in the coastal waters of the northeastern United States, has a distinctive shell that yields the purple beads.