The World of Beads

Beads are the; earliest form of expression, and the oldest form o art. They've been around for 40,000. years. There is evidence of beads dating back to befc#xe cave paintings, or carved figures. Besides ornamentation, their uses have been varied. Beads have been used as ,currency, for example, the African trade beads, which were made m Europe. Many religions use beads m their worship rituals, such as the Catholic rosary, or the Buddhist, mala.

People's interests in beads are as varied as their uses. To the archeol-, ogist excavating at Carthage in Tunisia, beads are a historical find. But everyone that wears jewelryy has an interest in beads, also. Beads, are the most basic piece of any jewelry. Wearing beads was also, a status symbol, and in some countries, still IS to this day. Beads are found in:
practically every country, and can be made out of most anything.

The first beads were probably made from natural, easily available materials, such as seeds, leaves, flowers and feathers. We can't really study the early forms, because they've all disintegrated with the burial of their makers and wearers. The earlaest records of beads of the Old Stone Age were mainly made from shell, but also bone, teeth or ivory. Small disc-shaped beads made from ostrich shells were first made in India around 25,000 years ago, and spread to the rest of Asia and Africa. Ostrich shell beads are still very, popular today.

With the dawn of the New Stone Age; people became domesticated, settled into villages and planted rains. They had more time to be creative and to adorn themselves. Metals were discovered and made into beads. Trade increased and different materials from exotic places were introduced. Tools were invented to make, life easier and allowed people to become more creative. Drills were used to make holes more easily, in beads. Bead makers, as far apart as New Guinea to Mexico, discovered that a piece of string attached to a bow and wrapped around' the drill made the work faster, and allowed the bead maker more control. Thus the bow drill was invented. This practice of drilling hole into stone, is still used in. India today.

As cities developed and landowner 'became, wealthy, their desire for more opulent beads grew. Rare materials such as pearls, carnelian and amber were traded long'dis tance. Furnaces were used to make faience, an early type, of glass, where the sand does not completely fuse. These types of beads were.., very popular before glass beads were commonplace. The earliest form of glass bead, found in Egyptian Royal tombs, dates from the 21st century B.C. The later development of wealthy Empires in Rome, Chiha aria India brought about hugebead trade networks around the world.

A bead network is basically the way bead gets from the maker to the buyer. Many of the most popular natural stone was found in only a small geographic area. A network made it possible for a piece of raw one to travel hundreds of miles before the finished bead found its Home.

With the discovery of the New World and the Native American beadwork, the bead networks became global. There were six globnetworks,, and all of them are still berating today, including, the coral bead industry of the Mediterranean, the Chinese glass bead industry and
Western European glass bead industry.

Today you can get beads from all the world including trade beads from Africa are very popular with collectors, and college students can get a zodiac symbol made out of bone from India to wear as a necklace. Certain crystals semi-precious stones such as moonstone or amethyst are thought to contain energy and healing pow and can be worn in many forms.

Wearing and making your own jewelry has become a very popular way of expressing yourself. There are countless ways to use beads personalize anything you wear. Beaded embroidery can turn dress into a spectacular piece of art. Whenever you wear beads, you are adorning yourself just as our st ancestors did.

Taken from Volume One June Edition.