Neolithic Stone Beads

One of the things that Shady and myself like from the ancient and modern world is jewellery, espcecially beads. Beads are the first forms of jewellery. A bead is simply an object with a hole going  through it. Historians say some ancient specimens which are on display in museums around the world are over 50 000 years old.

Looking at these things, I wonder when did people, or humanoid sentient beings started wearing jewellery? Did it first start as decoration or was it to keep a small treasured object close, and to make sure it would not get stolen or lost, the best way was to gouge a hole through it, and put it on a string and wear it around the neck.

Way before early humans learnt how to work with metal, there were beads. Beads made from organic and natural things, shells, stone, wood and from animal teeth and bones. I would say people already were able to appreciate the beauty of nature and the world's substances, and it brought them happiness and comfort having these things close, to touch, smell and hold. And to think of what these things remind them or mean to them.

Below is stone jewellery from the Badarian culture, in what is now upper Egypt during 4000 to 5000 B.C.

Without modern tools it surely must have been difficult to make these pieces above. This was before the Bronze age, so no metal tools were available. It likely was made with flint tools and bow drills, and a whole lot of patience required.

Then again life was simple back then, with no television, books nor entertainment other than hunting, fishing, story-telling and taking care of the livestock and crops.

The centre-piece stones are larger, and are saucer-shaped with pretty and precise trimming. It might not look much to our eyes now, but thousands of years ago, people would eye them enviously and exclaim how pretty they were.

Look carefully, just imagine it's thousands of years into the past and we are sitting at our cradle of civilisation of a settlement. Hunters have returned, and the simple smell of meat roasting over spits fill the air. We hear the cries of our domestic animals, sheep, dogs and goats. Our clan people talking and resting, and the night watch just coming awake to make sure wild animals do not steal that which is ours.

All around is nature, the air clean and sweet with no hint of global warming nor chemicals. It is in the early evening, and we are watching the local stone jeweller hold his or her work up into the fading light, mopping sweat from his or her brow and sighing in satisfaction. Yes, the light carvings of "X"s look good, and the angular geometrical cuboid-shaped beads compliment the half circle curved beads nicely. The stone buffed as smooth as the tools at the time allowed, with no sharp edges that could cause discomfort for the wearer. It was a day of hard work well-spent for the jeweller.

A hunter offers a slightly bloody deer carcass to trade for the stone necklace, hoping to get it for his wife. A young fisherman offers a bunch of fresh fish in exchange. More people make their offers to the stone jeweller, and he/she is spoilt for choice. This was probably daily life for them.

Now coming back to the present in 2020, don't you agree it was pretty exquisite for its time all those millenia ago?