Try this one: http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/graydeer/WAMPUM.HTM They get the colors right.
REH ----- Original Message ----- From: "pete" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 11:31 PM Subject: FWk: Wampum > > I thought I'd better sort this out, as the name "dentalium" rang a bell, > from Ed's post, and I'd been expecting Ray to correct or elaborate my > comments, and his description of purple shells obviously didn't jibe with > the west coast tubes. so, a quick web search on +dentalium +wampum > turned up a bunch of hits, probably the most detailed being > > freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jcahill/wampum.htm > > which reveals that the white dentalium tube shells from Vancouver Island > were called "wampum" by european explorers in analogy to the wampum > from the Algonquin Indians who made the beads from the very hard purple > parts of an east coast clam shell, carving them as narrow cylinders > with a hole down the long axis, an impressive feat prior to recourse > to steel drills. Interesting to note that as the dentalium travelled > as far as lake superior, european explorers would have seen concrete > evidence of the pacific ocean very early on in their explorations, but > wouldn't have realized the significance. -PV > > > > >
