I'm going crazy over this, i would like to understand the meaning of という in
this sentence and i can't find anywhere a specific answer:

昔の中国 では、珍しい貝殻がお金として使われていたということである。

I know the meaning of という but i can't understand its role in this sentence,
could someone help me? Very thank you!
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2019-09-14T20:33:55.010
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2019-09-14T20:33:55.010
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question
grammar meaning
What's the meaning of という in this sentence?