Marine shells from the Bobby Becker site.
Pedestrian quality shell beads from the Bobby Becker site,
a hamlet near Cahokia
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Of particular importance in the Mississippian economic system were decorative
objects made from shell, particularly marine shell. From the homes of common
farmers, archaeologists find evidence that many Mississippians manufactured
shell beads. If shell bead manufacture was for personal use, then it
seems to be good evidence for the transformation of food surplus into
non-perishable manufactured goods. Alternatively, rural households may have
been "contracted" to manufacture shell beads in exchange for materials or
favors by a high status owner of uncut marine shells. Some shell from commoner
households may represent payment for this work. Regardless of how whole shells
were acquired, some Mississippian households engaged in the manufacture of
goods in order to add to the families economic worth.
Good quality shell beads from Cahokia.
Whether or not these goods, in particular shell beads, served as a primitive
form of money is difficult to determine. Nevertheless, because not all
goods have equal value, we can reasonably assume that these prestige items,
which represent transformed wealth (such as shell beads, highly burnished pots,
hoes, meat, or hides), might used to fullfill various social obligations and
functions, such as at times of marriage, death, birth, alliance formation, etc.
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