Circular Prestige: The Worthless Commodities of the Kula Ring

Why would men risk their lives navigating treacherous, storm-battered oceans in fragile wooden canoes just to exchange completely useless, brittle seashell necklaces? The Kula Ring of the Trobriand Islands remains one of the most profound and baffling economic systems ever documented by modern anthropology. In this massive, circular maritime trading network spanning hundreds of miles, tribes con...