I followed up this bit of googling and found this: http://www.trends.net/~yuku/tran/9cow2.htm giving details of Jackson's book description (1917), but the group message is written by Yuri Kuchinsky, who is a well-known 'eccentric' on the possibilities of trans-Pacific contacts (and, although 'eccentric' may just possibly be right). The word 'miigis' used for the shell in Ojibwa also means 'pearl' and 'porcelain' http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/miigis. The Midewiwin were a Grand Medicine Society of the Ojibwa, who stretched from New England to the Canadian Great Plains (Manitoba in this case). It would be quite natural for such a Shaman's Club to hold certain amazing shells as sacred objects, for a very long time. The Petroforms mentioned in the original Wikipedia article are arrangements of large stones on the land surface that represent medicine wheels, astronomic indicators, etc. "According to the oral history of the Anishinaabeg, they originally lived on the shores of the "Great Salt Water" (presumably the Atlantic Ocean near the Gulf of St. Lawrence). They were instructed by seven prophets to follow a sacred miigis shell (whiteshell) toward the west, until they reached a place where food grew upon the water. They began their migration some time around 950, stopping at various points several times along the way (most significantly at Baawitigong, Sault Ste. Marie, where they stayed for a long time), and splitting up into a number of subgroups. Eventually they arrived at the wild ricing lands of Minnesota and Wisconsin (wild rice being the food that grew upon the water) and made Mooningwanekaaning minis (Madeline Island: "Island of the yellow-shafted flicker") their new capital. In total, the migration took around five centuries." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anishinaabe_traditional_beliefs I agree with someone's comments that some Wikipedia entries are nonsense, because almost anybody can write them. But most of the responsible entries link to original sources, which Britannica just doesn't do, so you can check for yourself. That particular entry had such links. And because Wikipedia is an 'open-entry' system, loosely policed by a diffuse group of experts in each subject, it can be very badly mis-used. Read, for instance, the awful story of Dr Taner Akcam at: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/fisk/article2469270.ece But I don't find it all nonsense that 'Native Americans' in the middle of the continent should retain and revere extraordinary shells. Everyone else, almost, around the world respects cowry shells, and since 'Native Americans' originally came from Asia, why shouldn't they do as well? I don't know how long cowries last, but I suspect it might be a very long time indeed, even in some shaman's pocket. I do suspect, however, an archaeologist's identification of an Atlantic or Pacific shell. Is Henk Mienis out there, looking in from time to time? regards Richard Parker Siargao Island, The Philippines. My website at www.coconutstudio.com is about the island and its people, coastal early humans, fishing, coconuts, bananas and whatever took my fancy at the time. On Thu, 19 Apr 2007 15:54:57 -0400, Richard Petit <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >Google for "Cowries money Jackson." Jackson wrote a work presenting >evidence that Cyopraea moneta was used in the U.S. at least as early as the >period 500 B.C.-500 C.E. This search will turn up the date and title of his >work as well as many other references. > >dick p. > >---------------------------------------------------------------------- >[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs >To leave this list, click on the following web link: >http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1 >Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and >click leave the list. >---------------------------------------------------------------------- I followed ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs To leave this list, click on the following web link: http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1 Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and click leave the list. ----------------------------------------------------------------------