Bandolier bag

In North America, materials such as gold, silver, gemstones, shells, or beautiful seeds were originally used as beads. The most important shell beads are called wampum. Woven into ceremonial belts, they were regarded as status symbols, and later also used as exchange currency. Glass beads were put into circulation by European colonial powers. White and blue glass beads from Bohemia enjoyed particular popularity due to their visual similarity with the wampum. Nevertheless, glass beads were never able to completely replace the wampum.