Maldive Islands in the context of "Shell money"

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⭐ Core Definition: Maldive Islands

Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an archipelagic country in South Asia, located in the eastern Arabian Sea, within the northern Indian Ocean. Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 750 kilometres (470 miles; 400 nautical miles) from the Asian continent's mainland. Maldives' chain of 26 atolls stretches across the equator from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to Addu Atoll in the south.

Maldives is the smallest country in Asia. Its land area is only 298 square kilometres (115 sq mi), but this is spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 sq mi) of the sea, making it one of the world's most spatially dispersed sovereign states. With a population of 515,132 in the 2022 census, it is the second least populous country in Asia and the ninth-smallest country by area, but also one of the most densely populated countries. Maldives has an average ground-level elevation of around 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) above sea level, and a highest natural point of only 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in), making it the world's lowest-lying country. Some sources state the highest point, Mount Villingili, as 5.1 metres or 17 feet.

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👉 Maldive Islands in the context of Shell money

Shell money is a medium of exchange similar to coin money and other forms of commodity money, and was once commonly used in many parts of the world. Shell money usually consisted of whole or partial sea shells, often worked into beads or otherwise shaped. The use of shells in trade began as direct commodity exchange, the shells having use-value as body ornamentation. The distinction between beads as commodities and beads as money has been the subject of debate among economic anthropologists.

Shell money has appeared in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Australia. The shell most widely used worldwide as currency was the shell of Cypraea moneta, the money cowry. This species is most abundant in the Indian Ocean, and was collected in the Maldive Islands, in Sri Lanka, along the Malabar coast, in Borneo and on other East Indian islands, and in various parts of the African coast from Ras Hafun to Mozambique. Cowry shell money was an important part of the trade networks of Africa, South Asia, and East Asia.

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Maldive Islands in the context of Cowry

Cowrie or cowry (pl. cowries) is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails in the family Cypraeidae.

Cowrie shells have held cultural, economic, and ornamental significance in various cultures. The cowrie was the shell most widely used worldwide as shell money. It is most abundant in the Indian Ocean, and was collected in the Maldive Islands, in Sri Lanka, along the Indian Malabar coast, in Borneo and on other East Indian islands, in Maluku in the Pacific, in Papua New Guinea and in various parts of the African coast from Ras Hafun, in Somalia, to Mozambique. Cowrie shell money was important in the trade networks of Africa, South Asia, and East Asia.

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Maldive Islands in the context of Maldivians

Maldivians (Dhivehi: ދިވެހިން, romanized: Dhivēhin, pronounced [diˈʋehiŋ]) are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group and nation native to the Maldive Islands, constituting the Republic of Maldives and the island of Minicoy (within Lakshadweep, a union territory of India). They share a common ancestry, history, culture and language.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Cowry ← Cowrie shells ← Maldivians ← Shell money
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Archipelagic state → South Asia → Arabian Sea → Indian Ocean → Sri Lanka → India → Atolls of the Maldives → Atolls of the Maldives → Addu Atoll → List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Asia → List of Asian countries by population → List of countries and dependencies by area → List of countries and dependencies by population density → List of elevation extremes by country → Mount Villingili →