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Cowrie shells were believed to play an active role in divination due to their white colour and their association with the ancestral realm. Divination, in turn, encompassed concepts of ancestry.
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The cowrie shells are boiled to bring out their color and holes are drilled for stringing. (Ogichobanov / Adobe) The Use of Shell Money. The use of shell money is believed to date back all the way to the Neolithic period. There is, however, debate whether these archaeological cowries were indeed used as currency or functioned as ornaments. It.
OF COWRIES AND CONCH SHELLS Maldives and the Indian Ocean Networks Maritime Asia Heritage Survey
Introduction. Two Indo-Pacific cowrie shells, Monetaria moneta (Linnaeus 1758) and Monetaria annulus (Linnaeus 1758) (Figure 1), have caused much ink to flow in reconstructions of the West African past.Often known in the literature as Cypraea moneta and Cypraea annulus, these marine gastropods are, by virtue of their source, frequently mentioned as markers of Africa's global connections (see.
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Archaeological explorations of the meaning of 'trade objects', such as glass beads and cowrie shells, remain hampered by theoretical and methodological limitations in both their analyses and interpretations. In this paper, we develop a methodology for critically engaging in multi-scalar questions of the circulation, exchange, and value of cowrie shells in African archaeological contexts.
1200 B.C. COWRIE SHELLS The first use of cowries, the shells of a mollusk that was widely
Cowrie shells were traded for goods and services throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania, and used as money as early as the 14th century on Africa's western coast. Because the shells were small, portable, and durable, they served as excellent currency and were almost impossible to counterfeit, appearing in standard weights..
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Exact numbers are impossible to calculate, but at a possible rate of around 6 kg of cowries (5000-6000 shells) for one slave, the São Bento cache could have been used to purchase three slaves.
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Cowrie shells have historically been utilized by various cultures for their aesthetic, cultural, and economic value. However, the escalating demand for these shells, driven by the tourism industry.
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Cowrie, any of several marine snails of the subclass Prosobranchia (class Gastropoda) comprising the genus Cypraea, family Cypraeidae. The humped, thick shell is beautifully coloured (often speckled) and glossy; the apertural lips, which open into the first whorl in the shell, are inrolled and may
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The Cowrie shell in its immaculate beauty is more than a fashion statement. In traditional African culture, the small humped, ovate shells hold significant spiritual and even monetary value. In line with the theme of educating the masses on Black history and culture, this article will delve into the history of the cowrie shell in Africa—including its cultural significance and fashion appeal.
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Cowrie shells are revered by numerous African tribes as a powerful symbol of fertility. The split in the shell is said to represent a woman's vulva and was often referred to as the 'Giver or Elixir of life'. When worn around the hips, cowrie shells are said to aid fertility. 3. Protection
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The import of these cowrie shells to areas of West Africa rose exponentially from the late 15th century in connection to European trade in ivory, slaves, gold, and later palm oil. Their numbers grew from the 16th to 19th century, during which time billions of cowrie shells found their way to Africa, especially in regions of modern Ghana, Benin, and Nigeria.
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Juvenile cowry shells are not at all similar to adult cowry shells. The juvenile shells of cowries perhaps more closely resemble the shells of some "bubble snails" in the order Cephalaspidea. Also the shells of juvenile cowries seldom exhibit the same color patterns as the adult shells do, and thus can be hard to identify to species.
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Cowrie (Cypraea chinensis) with fully extended mantle Shells of various species of cowrie; all but one have their anterior ends pointing towards the top of this image.Cowrie or cowry (pl. cowries) is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.. The term porcelain derives from the old Italian term for the cowrie.
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Cowrie shells are worn as jewelry or otherwise used as ornaments or charms. In Mende culture, cowrie shells are viewed as symbols of womanhood, fertility, birth, and wealth. Its underside is supposed, by one modern ethnographic author, to represent a vulva or an eye.
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Cowrie shells are shells from marine gastropod mollusc that belongs to the family Cypraeidae. Cowrie shells are light beige, small, glossy, and porcelain-like. The shells were introduced to West Africa by Arab traders in the 8th century (Sogoba, 2018). Cowrie Shells became the official currency of the Mali empire in the 18th century. Eventually, they became the most widely used coinage.
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These mature tiger cowries have been collected from the throughout this range, where live specimens can be found in ankle deep waters down to 30 feet on reefs and under coral rocks. The largest cowries inhabit the coastal waters of Hawaii. In fact, the largest shell in the image was found off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii, and is about 124 mm long.