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Beads Have Been Forever
The earliest use of beads occurred around 100,000 years ago. The first homo habilis in Africa probably attached an animal tooth from a tiger or lion to a piece of sinew and tied it around his neck. Perhaps it symbolized his prowess as a hunter.
Through the ages, every culture has used beads as barter, status symbols, spiritual talisman, expression of religious belief, ornamentation, secret symbols, as a calculator (abacus), and as objects of beauty. In some civilizations, certain beads were reserved for royal personages (sumptuary).
People have devised many ways to wear and use beads: wound into the hair, tied around the neck of a pet and used as leash, as embellishments to pottery, paintings, textiles, and ceremonial and performance costumes, and of course as jewelry worn on the head, in the ears, on the fingers, and almost anywhere else on the body.
The bead provides endless outlets for creativity and aesthetic achievement. Children start stringing beads long before they learn to read.
So what exactly is a bead? It is any object that has a perforation, or hole, that allows the beader to attach it to a cord. Some holes occur naturally. Others must be drilled into the stone, pearl, or piece of glass.
Beads come in a myriad of shapes: round, tubular, flat, cylindrical, leaf, rondel, tiny (seed), flower, melon, rice, potato, or teardrop, to name only a few.
Almost any precious metal or gemstone can be formed into a bead, either by molding, cutting, applying high heat, or faceting. During the 18th and 19th centuries Europeans developed sophisticated technology to produce beautiful beads from glass, both by hand and mass-produced.
