Beads are one of the most versatile and expressive art mediums. At one point, African beads were used as currency. African beads have been exchanged for food and livestock. Some African women wear beads around their waists-- to enhance their figures, to entice men, and for rejuvenation. In the 21st century African people continue to use and wear beads for cultural recognition, status and adornment. For thousands of years across the continent of Africa, beads were prestigious trade items that were used in masquerades royal regalia and as adornment for the body. In each of these contexts, beads have had a primary role in communicating complex ideas about social and political status. The most extensive evidence of early bead production and use has been found in Africa. The oldest beads that have been discovered on the continent are drilled ostrich egg shells from southern Africa that have been dated to the Middle Stone Age (280,000 to 45,000 years ago) and perforated shells from northern Africa that are 80,000 years old. In addition to ancient beads, prehistoric paintings of humans wearing elaborate beadwork adornments have been discovered on cave walls in Southern Africa and the Sahara Desert. Beads are some of the first material signs of symbolic thought, an indicator of modern human behavior. Later beads were made of bone, shell, wood, reed, ceramic, ivory, glass, semi-precious stone horn and metal.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 20:46:01 +0000
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