According to the book Wampum Belts, "Along the Atlantic coastal waters from Cape Cod to Florida is found the quahog or round clam shell. Using this material, coastal Indian People made wampum. (Later, glass beads introduced by white traders were used.) The embroidery work of the wampum belts were made from porcupine quills or the chin whiskers of the moose." These beads were used for ornamentation and ceremonial purposes as well as for a medium of exchange.
The Wampum belt worn by Hawthorne's Indian may have been intended as currency for the purchase of firearms from the residents of Merry Mount. The sale of firearms to the Indians was a major source of contention for the Puritans primarily because the armed Indians posed a threat to their safety but also because the exchange supported the dissolute life style at Merry Mount.
Tehanetorens, Wampum Belts.Onchiota, N.Y.: Six Nations Indian Museum, 1972.