 The indigenous peoples of the Americas living near the east coast used pieces of shell as wampum . The channeled whelk ( <unk> <unk> ) and the quahog ( Mercenaria mercenaria ) were used to make white and purple traditional patterns . The shells were cut , rolled , polished and drilled before being strung together and woven into belts . These were used for personal , social and ceremonial purposes and also , at a later date , for currency . The Winnebago Tribe from Wisconsin had numerous uses for freshwater mussels including using them as spoons , cups , ladles and utensils . They notched them to provide knives , graters and saws . They carved them into fish hooks and lures . They incorporated powdered shell into clay to temper their pottery vessels . They used them as scrapers for removing flesh from hides and for separating the scalps of their victims . They used shells as scoops for gouging out fired logs when building canoes and they drilled holes in them and fitted wooden handles for tilling the ground . 
