A History of Beads

Bead collection (Ky Davis).

Creating and wearing beads has been part of human culture for tens of thousands of years. The oldest known beads, made of snail shells and strung to make jewelry, were found in Skull Cave in Israel and are thought to be 100,000 years old. Beads made from ostrich eggshells found in Tanzania are dated around 70,000 years old. Carved eagle talons from Croatia date to around 40,000 years ago. Throughout history, beads have been used for decoration, trade, meditation and prayer, and to denote social standing or power. Archaeologists have found beads through almost every culture and era in our history.

Collection of colorful Venetian Murano glass millefiori beads (Aleksandr Simonov/Shutterstock.com).

The earliest European beads were found in La Quina, a Paleolithic site in Gardes-le-Pontaroux, France, and were made around 38,000 BCE. They were carved by early humans from animal teeth and bones. Though they were initially likely used as jewelry or decoration, early humans eventually began to use beads for trade. Beads were made of stones, shells, agate, serpentine, turquoise, coral, carnelian, and eventually from lapis lazuli, which came from Afghanistan. Greek traders exchanged copper and bronze for amber from Baltic communities, which they made into beads.

String of faience beads, from the Eye Temple in Tell Brak, Late Uruk Period, 3300–3000 BCE (British Museum). Hollow spherical bead with the Names of Ramesses II and Queen Istnofret, circa 1279–1213 BCE (Metropolitan Museum of Art).

Egyptians made faience beads of clay and then coated them with glass vitreous coating and traded them for gold, slaves, and ivory. View beads found in the River Thames ›

17th-century Venetian glass Chevron trade bead from Africa with a crude repair next to a modern-day copy (S and S Imaging/Shutterstock.com). Glass mosaic bead, Roman, Egyptian, or Alexandrian, 1st century AD (Metropolitan Museum).

Millefiori multicolored glass beads were developed in Mesopotamia 3,500 years ago, and these beads were traded as far north as Scandinavia.

Ancient blue glass beads used as everyday items of adornment, ceremonial costumes and objects of barter (trade) from probably 1050 to 1250 AD. Northern Tuli Game Reserve. Botswana.

Romans developed new kilns and glass blowing techniques to create colorful glass beads that were traded from Scandinavia to China to Ethiopia and beyond.

Wampum belt made from traditional shell beads by Native American Eastern Woodlands tribes. Wampum beads were also used for currency, storytelling, ceremonial gifts, and recording history (EWY Media/Shutterstock.com).

In North America, French merchants and later the Hudson Bay Company traded beads for furs, some of which traveled all the way to the Pacific Ocean. And beads were an integral part of the slave trade between Europe, Africa, and North America—slavers were often paid in beads produced in Venice, Holland, and Bohemia. The beads were also used for services and products such as oils, gold, and ivory. These beads are now called “trade beads” and sometimes “slave beads.” Christopher Columbus gave beads to natives in San Salvador when he landed there in 1492. Native Americans had a history of using beads for barter, so they were willing to trade beads for local raw materials, fur, and more. View more wampum beads ›

Detail of cut blown glass candlestick and drip pan with scalloped rim, beaded garlands and hanging teardrops, England, 1760–1790 (Fae/Shutterstock.com).

As civilizations changed and collapsed, bead-makers moved and brought techniques, secrets, and skills with them, incorporating new materials and local raw materials into their work. As bead making costs fell, more people were able to purchase or trade for beads, not just the wealthy. Bead making flourished in Venice, the Island of Murano, Holland, France, Germany, Bohemia, and Moravia. When Napoleon conquered Venice in 1797, many glassmakers were taken to France, where their secret techniques were uncovered, leading to growth of bead production in the Czech lands (including Bohemia) and Holland. Glass cutting developed along with new glass cutting machines, which allowed the growth of crystal glass making.

Colorful handmade lampwork beads with stripes (Annari/Shutterstock.com).

Because beads were integral to trade, many were lost in storms when the ships carrying them sank. Although it’s not likely that a bead you find on a beach came from one of the shipwrecks, it’s still fun to think of the long history humans have with these tiny treasures.

This article appeared in Beachcombing Magazine Volume 39 November/December 2023.