I thought we needed more 'tactile' elements to represent gold and food. And I also needed to create some ships to simulate waterborne invasions and trade.
I found some Pirate Gold Coins on the interweb and decided to use glass beads for food. No particular reason for the latter except they're easier to handle and count out than the pink pebbles.
The ships are hand made. Lolly sticks, rubber sheeting and matchsticks = ancient fleet!