Pacific peoples employ a huge range of materials from their environment to decorate their bodies. Some are permanent such as the shells, feathers, teeth, tusks, seeds, turtle shell, and hair seen on these ornaments here. Shell beads and later glass beads serve as currency in many parts of the Pacific, so that the person wearing them is also displaying their family wealth. However, much Pacific personal decoration consists of ephemeral art such as body painting and elaborate constructions of feathers, flowers, and leaves. Face and body tattoos are another distinctive personal ornament for many Pacific peoples.