The Western Australian Museum acknowledges and respects the Traditional Owners of their ancestral lands, waters and skies.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that this digital guide may include images, sounds, and names of now deceased persons.

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A collection of small pale-coloured round shells in a shallow wooden display case, with a pink background.

Cowrie Shells

Trade

Both were widely used as money in the northern Indian Ocean region.

Cowrie shells were the small change of trade for thousands of years over much of Asia and Africa.

Roman coins found their way to India and Sri Lanka. Kings in these countries even minted copies of them

Deep Dives

A collection of small pale-coloured round shells in a shallow wooden display case, with a pink background.

Maritime Melting Pot - Indian Ocean Cultures

The most basic currency - the cowrie shell

Article

Baskets of goods on display in the replica marketplace in the Museum.

The First Explorers- Arab Traders in the Indian Ocean

A bit of everything- Middle Eastern trade

Article

A collection of small pale-coloured round shells in a shallow wooden display case, with a pink background.

Cowrie shells.
Credit: WA Museum

The Western Australian Museum acknowledges and respects the Traditional Owners of their ancestral lands, waters and skies.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that this digital guide may include images, sounds, and names of now deceased persons.