Beading+History!

Beads! Beads! Beads! Basic Beading History! Beading has basically been around nearly as long as humans have been. From the exact second that humans found out a shell or a stone could be strung around their neck (bead stringing), beading has been a popular art form. Weather those objects were used for decoration, a religious symbol, or magical powers bead stringing was the first form of the beading we know today. Thousands of years ago animal bones have been strung on and worn my humans. Ancient tribes believed that the bones would protect them, and soon enough humans acquired the necessary tools to make holes through the bones. Soon sea shells, sea pods, nut shells, mollusk shells, and even teeth have been found by archeologists on string, all for different purposes. Some people started to make their beads out of clay, and then started adding color to it. Then, about 3000 years ago, Egyptians learned to make glass. This advancement led to the creation of glass beads and the Egyptians brought beading to a whole new level. After they figured out how to add pigment to the glass beads the Egyptians made many beautiful pieces consisting of colorful beads and gold/silver. In addition to Egypt other nations also embraced the beautiful art of beading. The abacus bead counting frame, that many kids used while growing up, was invented thousands of years ago in Babylonia. Romans were also important to the advancement of beads, they traded beads across their entire empire, and even Celts and Vikings beaded amulets and necklaces. Native American bead work is a popular fashion, they took beading to a new level of putting it on clothes, and even today Native American bead work is very popular and worn daily. To conclude, that is the basic history of beading/bead work!



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