Dear Richard,
Please change Nassaria into Nassarius.
Nassaria is an independant genus in the Buccinidae,
Nassarius is in the Nassariidae.
The Nassarius shell beads from Blombos are not anymore the oldest ones;
those from Shkul, on Mount Carmel, Israel, were at least 100.000 years old.
Best regards,
Henk K. Mienis

----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Parker" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, March 07, 2008 4:25 PM
Subject: [CONCH-L] Money - Nassaria & Cowry


>
> Nassaria and cowry shells seem to have been very special as 'money'
> symbols from Blombos Cave (@70,000 years ago)to now.
>
> For example, the Ekari (an inland tribe of Irian Jaya/New Guinea) almost
> worshipped them as symbols of wealth. They couldn't pick them up
> themselves, but had to rely on other tribes for supply.
>
> When the Dutch colonised West New Guinea, the shell supply grew rapidly,
> and caused inflation. The Ekari just sat back and refused the 'new ones'.
>
> So why have Nassaria and cowries, specifically, been a symbol of wealth
> over such a very long time?
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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>

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