Localization and chronology of cowrie shells in the world cultures (archaeological and ethnographic evidence)

The study summarizes the available information about cultural- chronological localization and the functions of the cowrie shells in societies outside the West and South Siberia, the territories not included in my previous work. The research focuses on the artefacts from Eurasia, Africa and North America dated from the Antiquity to the Contemporary period. The paper continues the study initiated by the cowrie finds from the Narym Selcup burials, and add them to the vast number of cultures in Siberia and its outside territories. Being imported for its symbolic rather than utilitarian qualities, cowrie shells brought a new non-material value from the outer world with different culture and economy. Expanding the group of cowrie culture representatives is necessary for estimating the role of the shell artefacts from Taiga region among the more studied cultures that originally provided the system of sacralization and symbolism for these type of objects.