Rare wampum beads discovered at 17th-century colony in Newfoundland

A collection of purple and white marbled beads in the palm of a hand.

Seven tiny beads unearthed in Newfoundland, Canada, are a rare discovery — they may be the only wampum ever found in the province, and they hint at trade between Indigenous people and European colonists.

The beads were found in July at the Colony of Avalon site in Ferryland, which was an early European settlement and a trading post for Indigenous people in the 17th century.