This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

In most places where shells are used it is not their decorative or aesthetic value to which primary importance is attached. Some arbitrary meaning that, in the course of ages, has come to be attached to or associated with certain shells determined the value assigned to them and impelled men to search for them far and wide and often at great peril. The cowry is widely believed to confer fertility on women and to help in the process of parturition. They are, therefore, worn on girdles by maidens, presented to them as bridal offerings, and used by sterile or pregnant women to attain these respective benefits. They are also put into' graves to confer vitalising power and ensure the continuance of the deceased's existence, i.e., not merely life but also resurrection. They have been used as artificial eyes for mummies, and also as charms against the evil eye, and to bring good luck. Hence they are used for games of chance. They were probably the earliest form of currency. Many of these attributes of the cowry were also transferred to the snail shell. Like the cowry it also was the source of life, the parent of mankind, the dwelling place of the. deity who conferred the blessings of fertility, not only to mankind, but also to his crops. The murmur of the shell was the voice of the god, and the trumpet made of a shell became an important instrument in initiation ceremonies and in temple worship. In the search for these shells special significance probably first came to be attached to pearls, which, however, had been known for many ages before then to the oyster-eating makers of kitchen-middens; and some of the magical powers associated with shells were also transferred to pearls. Pearl-like bodies are obtained from a considerable number of shells in addition to those of the pearl oyster; and it is significant that a special cultural importance came to be attached to most, if not all of them.

Excerpt from Shells as Evidence of the Migration of Early Culture This book represents nothing more than the informa tion garnered in this preliminary survey; and no one recognises its incompleteness more than its author. But I have urged Mr. Jackson to make these results more generally accessible by collecting them into a book, because they reveal the richness and the importance Of this branch of ethnography. It is hoped that by appealing to the interest of conchologists and ethnologists it will stimulate some of them to join in the search for further evidence and assist in collecting and sifting the material for an exhaustive treatise. The numerous letters which Mr. Jackson has received from all parts of the world since he began the publication of his reports suggests that the interest in this line of investigation is real and widespread and that the wider distribution of this collection of essays will achieve the end he has In View. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Originally published between 1920 and 1970,The History of Civilization was a landmark in early twentieth century publishing. It was published at a formative time within the social sciences, and during a period of decisive historical discovery. The aim of the general editor, C.K. Ogden, was to summarize the most up to date findings and theories of historians, anthropologists, archaeologists and sociologists. This reprinted material is available as a set or in the following groupings: * Prehistory and Historical Ethnography Set of 12: 0-415-15611-4: £800.00 * Greek Civilization Set of 7: 0-415-15612-2: £450.00 * Roman Civilization Set of 6: 0-415-15613-0: £400.00 * Eastern Civilizations Set of 10: 0-415-15614-9: £650.00 * Judaeo-Christian Civilization Set of 4: 0-415-15615-7: £250.00 * European Civilization Set of 11: 0-415-15616-5: £700.00

Originating in the sea, especially in the waters surrounding the low-lying islands of the Maldives, Cypraea moneta (sometimes confused with Cypraea annulus) was transported to various parts of Afro-Eurasia in the prehistoric era, and in many cases, it was gradually transformed into a form of money in various societies for a long span of time. Yang provides a global examination of cowrie money within and beyond Afro-Eurasia from the archaeological period to the early twentieth century. By focusing on cowrie money in Indian, Chinese, Southeast Asian and West African societies and shell money in Pacific and North American societies, Yang synthsises and illustrates the economic and cultural connections, networks and interactions over a longue durée and in a cross-regional context. Analysing locally varied experiences of cowrie money from a global perspective, Yang argued that cowrie money was the first global money that shaped Afro-Eurasian societies both individually and collectively. He proposes a paradigm of the cowrie money world that engages local, regional, transregional and global themes.