ABSTRACT
Cowrie shells were widely used in Eurasian societies, particularly India, China, Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. Although Yunnan has been a province of China since the Mongol conquest, the case of cowries in Yunnan was different from that of China proper in terms of their long-term existence and diverse usage. The Bengal-centred cowrie monetary system had extended to neighbouring Southeast Asian areas as observed by both western and Chinese travelers. The Laws of King Mengrai makes a great parallel and connection with Chinese testimony of cowrie money in Yunnan during the Ming dynasty. In addition to India, medieval Yunnan, and the Chiang Mai kingdom, various sources refer to the wide existence of the cowrie currency in many parts of early Southeast Asia. The cowrie trade is connected to the slave trade, linking the Indian Ocean to Africa and the Atlantic slave markets.
