The New England Indians had made but slight progress in the arts. The character of the native music is even yet not well understood, and much preliminary work remains to be done before any generalizations can be made.[40] We know, however, that in the same song the instrumental and vocal rhythms were different, and that there was a characteristic one for every ceremony. Music, indeed, was an important element in life, all ceremonies, public and private, being accompanied by songs, which were the property of clans, societies, or individuals, and were bought and sold. In design, both in pottery and weaving, the patterns used were geometrical only, and simple; but the later New England native pottery showed the influence of the superior art of the Iroquois, in form as well as decoration.[41] Footnote 40: _Ibid._, p. 146. Footnote 41: C. C. Willoughby, “Pottery of the New England Indians,” in _Putnam Anniversary Volume of Anthropological Essays_ (New York, 1909), pp. 83 _ff._ In their economic life, the most interesting feature was the use of wampum, or shell-beads, as a primitive medium of exchange. These little black or white cylinders, of which the former were worth twice as much as the latter, were made with great care from certain shells found along the coast. Besides their use as currency, they were prized by the Indians as ornament, and were strung into belts, to perform their well-known symbolic and historical functions.[42] Footnote 42: W. B. Weeden, _Indian Money as a Factor in New England Civilization_, Johns Hopkins University Studies, 1884; A. C. Parker, _The Constitution of the Five Nations_, N. Y. State Museum Bulletin, 1916.