Beads: How They Are Made and What They Are Made From

People have been making beads for thousands of years. Beads and bead bracelets were used for rituals, ceremonies, and as everyday jewelry and decor. Ancient people throughout time from the Olmecs to the Native American Indians made beads and bead bracelets. The materials utilized to make beads has changed throughout history. The tactics used to make beads has also changed with time.

Ceramics were some of the earliest materials used to make beads. Pottery and glass-making are earlyhuman activities that have persisted through human history and continue to this day. However in antiquity beads and bead bracelets made from ceramics were for rulers. The typical person in antiquity had access to ceramic materials but they were concerned with making bowls, pots, and jugs. Only the wealthy could afford to purchase or make ceramics for jewelry and decorative purposes.

Common tribesmen and laymen in antiquity made beads and bead bracelets out of elements found ready in nature. Common materials used for beads and bead bracelets were bone, coral, horn, ivory, seeds, animal shells, and wood. Most of these materials were leftover products from the hunt or harvest anyway and jewelry was a good way to put them to use. People from antiquity also used alloys such as bronze and brass to make beads and bead bracelets. But bronze and brass were less common because a lot of work is required to make and shape the alloys.

Today beads and bead bracelets are frequently made from plastics and different types of glass. Modern technology has led to the mass-production of all kinds of beads and bead bracelets. Arts and crafts stores stock beads of all different sizes, shapes, and colors. There are probably more beads in the world today than can ever be bought. Beads and bead bracelets are so abundant today that they are no longer specifically for rituals, ceremonies, and special occasions. When beads and bead bracelets required human labor to produce they were considered rare. Now beads and bead bracelets are used for average events like birthday parties, arts and crafts at school, or simply to keep children occupied.

The ingredients that modern beads and bead bracelets are made with are usually synthetic. Synthetic means they are fabricated and will last a very long time. Plastic and pressed glass will not decay like the organic materials that ancient peoples used to make beads and bead bracelets out of. Plastic is more tenacious than glass and will last next to forever. Archaeologists in the future will be excavating green, blue, neon, and glow-in-the-dark beads and bead bracelets and using them to help tell the story of how contemporary people lived.

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