Within the Phoenix Basin in southern Arizona, disk beads have long been highly valued. Remarkably, the Akimel O’Odham (i.e., Pima) and Pee Posh (i.e., Maricopa) still place great importance on them today. Similar beads were formed from shell, stone, and clay. The effort necessary to manufacture beads from these constituents varies, but beads made from different materials are often macroscopically indistinguishable. Furthermore, some raw materials had to be imported, while other constituents were locally available. These factors should have affected the value of different bead types, and ethnographic evidence shows that indigenous people have clearly defined preferences for attributes, including color and material. In particular, beads made from shell and turquoise are recognized as being most valuable. This paper presents archaeological, ethnohistorical, ethnographic, and contemporary data that show that small disk beads were a form of wealth that was employed in trade transactions.

在亚利桑那州南部的凤凰盆地内，盘状珠子一直受到高度重视。值得注意的是，今天，Akimel O'Odham（即Pima）和Pee Posh（即Maricopa）仍然非常重视它们。由贝壳，石头和粘土形成类似的珠子。由这些成分制造珠子所需的努力各不相同，但是由宏观上无法区分由不同材料制成的珠子。此外，一些原材料必须进口，而其他成分则可以在当地获得。这些因素本应影响不同类型珠子的价值，而人种学证据表明，土著人民对包括颜色和材料在内的属性有明确的偏好。特别地，由贝壳和绿松石制成的珠子被认为是最有价值的。本文介绍了考古学，