How did European use of wampum differ from Haudenosaunee use?

• A. Europeans used them as currency; Haudenosaunee used them for condolence belts.
• B. Europeans used them ceremonially; Haudenosaunee used them as currency.
• C. Europeans traded them as goods only; Haudenosaunee never used for trade.
• D. Europeans used them as clothing decorations; Haudenosaunee used them as money.

Answer: (B)

Wampum shows how value and meaning are assigned in different cultures. For the Haudenosaunee, belts of wampum were living records—portables stories and agreements. They were used in diplomacy to seal treaties, in ceremonies to mark important occasions, and even as condolence belts to carry messages of sympathy and unity.

Europeans, by contrast, treated wampum mainly as a medium of exchange. It functioned as currency and a trading commodity in early colonial and Atlantic trade networks, valued for its usefulness in barter rather than as a symbolic or ceremonial medium.

So the key idea is that wampum served as a record and ceremonial/diplomatic tool for the Haudenosaunee, while it functioned as currency for Europeans. This difference highlights how the same material can have very different social and economic roles across cultures.