Beads - Then and Now

Far back in the mists of prehistory, some caveman looked at a small animal neck-bone and decided it would look good strung on a vine with others like it. It was a long way from the ID lanyards of today, but at least it was something distinctive he could hang around his neck. Later beads were more complex, since they didn't come with natural holes and had to be deliberately drilled, but humans happily began to make beads out of anything they could get their hands on: stones, bones, gold nuggets, wood, seeds, shells, horn, coral, and even those globules of mollusk-spit we now call pearls.

Like most things humans create, beads have multiple purposes. In prehistoric times, beads were used as a protection from evil spirits, and this practice continued unabated into ancient Egypt. The modern religious use of worry beads and rosaries echoes this primordial practice. Mostly, though, we use beads for pure adornment. In fact, they're probably some of our oldest items of jewelry: archeologists have discovered seashell necklaces in graves 70,000 years old. Seashells of various sorts continued to be used in beading for thousands of years, perhaps reaching their greatest expression in the wampum of the Native American tribes of New England. Wampum strings, which were made from polished cylindrical seashell beads, not only served as currency, but sometimes as a way of keeping historic records. They were often worn as necklaces or belts.

The Versatility of Beads

At their most basic, beads are simple little balls or disks with holes drilled through them. They can vary in dimension from barely visible to grape-sized (even bigger if you want to get extreme) and can be made of just about anything imaginable. Mother Nature supplies plenty of options; pearls are probably our most famous natural beads, and are so important to the modern jewelry industry (check any online jewelry store) that their creation is no longer left to chance.

In the last few thousand years, natural beads have been joined by materials either created or refined by humans: ceramics, metals, plastics, and glass top the list. Bead making and beading evolved into art form integral of jewelry making, and from the Egyptian era until recent historical times, fine beads -- especially those made of glass and ceramic -- were traded far and wide. The Romans, Vikings, Chinese, and ancient Europeans all got into the act, using beads for everything from currency and jewelry to abacus counters. It should come as no surprise, then, that in a later era beads were often offered to Native Americans as tokens of friendship and as currency for purchases. Indian groups took to beading like a fish to water, applying beads particularly to clothing and footwear. Some of the beaded moccasins and shirts produced during and after the Contact era remain masterpieces of the art.

By the late 1800s, beads were back in vogue in the Western world, and they haven't gone out of style since. The Victorians and Edwardian were inspired to create elaborate beaded headdresses, jewelry, and garments for special occasions, and in the 1920s flappers were the first to wear beads made from a manmade material called bakelite -- the first true plastic. Once plastics were perfected, plastic beads of all kinds exploded onto the scene, used in everything from costume jewelry to beaded lanyards. One of the more interesting modern manifestations is Perler beads, plastic beads you melt together using a hot iron -- quite a long way from stringing animal bones together on a vine.

Published with permission (FCDMInc)