A Brief History of Bead Weaving
My first trip to Greece to study the art and archaeology in 2010. This is at a site on Crete.
As an artist and art historian, I find researching the background of my work incredibly interesting. There are so many resources that discuss the history of beadwork from all over the world. Here, I want to provide a brief history of beadwork. (The history is quite extensive and I could approach this like a college research paper, but that might be too boring for people to read… so here is a shorter version. This definitely does not include everything there is to know. There are links at the bottom of this for those that wish to research more! Or just ask me!)
The oldest beads were naturally punctured objects. These objects would range from stones, seeds, shells, animal teeth etc. Many of the earliest examples were found Kenya and Turkey. The earliest bead dates are debated between 300,000-100,000 B.C.E. and 43,000-38,000 B.C.E. So old!
Early beadwork used thread to attach beads together. These threads varied based on materials available, but ranged from sinew to fiber threads from plants. Many of the earliest examples of beadwork may be long forgotten because some of the threads used to connect the beads have disintegrated over time. One of the earliest examples that archaeologists believe to be woven beads is from an Eurasian Ice Age burial site in Sungir dated to 26,000-23,000 B.C.E.
Studying the Tholos Tomb at the Bronze Age site of Mycenae. Circa 2010, i look so little!
Ancient Egyptian beadwork is an excellent example of early bead weaving techniques. They mainly used faience beads (a glaze over crushed quartz or sand) and some glass beads. Many artifacts have been found in burials throughout Egypt. The dry environment kept the threads intact over thousands of years. It is unclear whether the Egyptians developed many of the weaving techniques archaeologists have found today, or if techniques were learned from other cultures through trade. Not only do we have artifacts that display beautiful bead weaving in Ancient Egypt and other early cultures, but there are also depictions painted on the walls of tombs and in early written texts. Many of these written texts that refer to embroidery, embellishments, and multicolored beadwork range from Egypt, Hebrew texts, early Mesopotamia, Indian, Chinese, etc. It is fascinating how these early cultures used beads.
The production of glass beads date back to the 14th century B.C.E. in Egypt. Later, many other areas began to produce glass beads. India, China, and Europe produced glass beads that were used locally and traded with other people. Bohemia was a large center for glass bead production. Over time, beads were used for many aspects of decoration. Bead weaving advanced with the developments of different weaving techniques used by many different cultures. Some bead weaving techniques are called the brick stitch, the peyote stitch, the square stitch, the double-layer scallop stitch, tubular polygon stitch, etc. (I have so many more techniques to learn!)
Bead weaving is sacred to many cultures all over the world. In North America, seed beads were introduced to the American Indians through trade in the mid 1800s. Before seed beads were traded, the First People’s used shell, pearl, bone, teeth, stone, etc. The materials that were used depended on the location of each group. In the Eastern Woodlands, wampum shell beads were used regularly in beading. Different tribes used different colors and patterns.
The Maasai people of Kenya create beaded work that exemplify cultural values and traditions. The women of the group are in charge of beading. The Maasai have been beading for a very long time with beads created from clay, wood, bone, copper, and brass. When glass beads were introduced, seed beads became a part of the materials they use to create their beaded adornments.
There is SO much more I want to learn and share about the cultures above and all the other cultures who have use beads. (Look up Ojime- so cool!)
Through my research, I have learned that the art of bead weaving is incredibly rich with history. We have examples of modern bead weaving from all over the world; African, American Indian, Japanese, Chinese, European, etc. Beads have been vital to the communication amongst cultural groups through trade. It is so wonderful to be a part of this rich and extensive history as a bead weaver myself.
If you would like more information, please feel free to contact me! Below are some links to my research resources.
A lot of my research was completed thanks to these wonderful books…
“The Art of Beadwork: Historic Inspiration, Contemporary Design” by Valerie Hector. Watson-Guptill Publications, New York. 2005. https://valeriehector.com/the-art-of-beadwork
“The History of Beads: from 30,000 B.C. to the Present” by Lois Sherr Dubin. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, New York. 1987. (There is a newer version of this book -I cannot afford it- that provides tons more info!)