CULTURAL READINGS: Colonization & Print in the Americas

University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

Iroquois wampum belt: New York or Eastern Canada. Shell, skin. (neg.# NC35-12972)

No utterance of any diplomatic occasion was valid until authenticated by the exchange of wampum in the form of strings or belts. Wampum served to engender further diplomatic contact; its presentation was a gesture that required a repricocal effort on the part of the recipient. Acceptance of the gift of wampum implied the acceptance of its message. In this way, wampum functioned like a certificate. This wampum belt is an abstract representation of an alliance between two peoples, signified by the straight path running between them.

Other wampum image

Print and Native Cultures

• Print as a (Re)source for Native Cultures
• [Return to] Oral Cultures in Print
• Native Writing

Exhibition Contents | Introduction | Essays | Bibliography & Links