Manillas (Other Keyword)
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Before the Gold Standard: Alternative Currencies in West Africa (2023)
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This is an abstract from the session entitled "Maritime Archaeology in West Africa", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Manillas and cowry shells served as alternative currencies in the trans-Atlantic trade in West Africa. Cowries are marine snails native to the Indian Ocean whose shells were brought into West Africa by trans-Saharan traders and adopted as an everyday alternative currency exchangeable for anything from food to slaves. Manillas are brass...