History of Practical Uses for Beads

I am addicted to beads. I really am. I don't really have much use for gold chains or diamonds but I suppose they have their place in the world of Bling-Bling. I much prefer a nice trade bead, or a lampwork (glass blown) bead. These are far more interesting to me than the usual show of affluence that many prefer.

The history of beads is greater than one would imagine. It stretches back almost 30,000 years to the dawn of humankind. In order classify beads historically I will give you four types of beads in a timeline.

1. Vintage - 50 yrs. to 100 yrs old
2. Antique - 100 years to 1800's
3. Ancient - 2,500 B.C. to 500 A.D.
4. Prehistoric - 30,000 years ago to 2,500 BC

It is important to understand that the importance of beads historically is actually quite complex. Beads were naturally used as adornment as far back as 30,000 years ago. In addition they have also been used as a show of social position, political office, marriage status, and wealth. Beads have also been used as currency and this is perhaps their most important role in history.

Various indigenous peoples have used them in trade, most notably the Africans and the Native American Indians. Beads were originally made by prehistoric individuals and the materials used were what could be found at hand, usually bone, seeds, shell, and stone. Whatever struck the fancy of the individual and occurred naturally in their environment was used.

The most famous of uses was in trade for slaves. African Kings and merchants along the coast would trade slaves that they captured from inland tribes. The slave traders would trade for glass beads made by the Venetians, Dutch, and Bohemians (Czech) and in some cases beads were purchased for trade from the Chinese.

Hundreds of pounds of beads would be stored in the holds of the merchant ships when leaving their home ports and used as a ballast to keep the boat on an even keel. Then when their trade was complete the beads would be off loaded and replaced by slaves. A few fine stings of beads could by you two or three strong black men to sell on the auction block for work on the plantations.