Kuznetsk archaeological collection contains, among others, glass and paste beads, usually black, white or sky blue. The beads from the museum exhibition consist of 11 round and one-part zone beads covered with paste of various colours: white, sky-blue and navy-blue.
The beads are one of the most ancient decorations. Three clamshells with perforation found by archaeologists in Israel and Algeria and manufactured ca.90 thousand years ago are deemed to be the first man-made elements of jewellery.
In the east of Morocco, individual decorated and perforated shells were found that probably made part of the beads. They are 82 thousand years old. In Blombos cave in the SAR over 40 shells were discovered, with traces of painting, going back 75 thousand years. The traces evidence that those shells were used for manufacturing beads. Apart from that, the researchers discover perforated bones, teeth and other items in the cultural property sites of the Paleolithic age; those artefacts were potentially used as making material for the necklaces by the primitive man. Later, various stones appeared with regular rounded shape aperture: made of alabaster, amber, pearl and others.
Glass beads — ‘Odekuy’ — were one of the highest-demand imported goods in Siberia. Inexpensive in production, the beads looked attractive and were in request. The first Yakutsk ‘woywode’ (governor) Petr Golovnin reported to Moscow: ‘… save… odekuy and iron, Yukhagirs purchase no other goods’. Most women of the Siberian peoples wore as a decoration the beads of strung multi-coloured glass balls of various size.
In Russia, the paste beads can be found in the archaeological sites of various ages. Such decorations were widely used in Scythian and Hunn-Sarmatian times, in Old Slavic tribes and also, in the Middle Ages.
Usually, the material of the beads manufacture determined the name and the shape of the beads and the method of their fabrication. The glass beads were put together of coloured smooth and faceted cylinder- or ring-shaped beads. Pearl beads were made from the pearls of the same shape and often, of the same size. Amber beads were manufactured of ball-shaped, oval or multifaceted pieces of amber with polished surface.
The beads are one of the most ancient decorations. Three clamshells with perforation found by archaeologists in Israel and Algeria and manufactured ca.90 thousand years ago are deemed to be the first man-made elements of jewellery.
In the east of Morocco, individual decorated and perforated shells were found that probably made part of the beads. They are 82 thousand years old. In Blombos cave in the SAR over 40 shells were discovered, with traces of painting, going back 75 thousand years. The traces evidence that those shells were used for manufacturing beads. Apart from that, the researchers discover perforated bones, teeth and other items in the cultural property sites of the Paleolithic age; those artefacts were potentially used as making material for the necklaces by the primitive man. Later, various stones appeared with regular rounded shape aperture: made of alabaster, amber, pearl and others.
Glass beads — ‘Odekuy’ — were one of the highest-demand imported goods in Siberia. Inexpensive in production, the beads looked attractive and were in request. The first Yakutsk ‘woywode’ (governor) Petr Golovnin reported to Moscow: ‘… save… odekuy and iron, Yukhagirs purchase no other goods’. Most women of the Siberian peoples wore as a decoration the beads of strung multi-coloured glass balls of various size.
In Russia, the paste beads can be found in the archaeological sites of various ages. Such decorations were widely used in Scythian and Hunn-Sarmatian times, in Old Slavic tribes and also, in the Middle Ages.
Usually, the material of the beads manufacture determined the name and the shape of the beads and the method of their fabrication. The glass beads were put together of coloured smooth and faceted cylinder- or ring-shaped beads. Pearl beads were made from the pearls of the same shape and often, of the same size. Amber beads were manufactured of ball-shaped, oval or multifaceted pieces of amber with polished surface.
Coral beads may be ball- or oval shaped, but in most cases, those are small sticks of various length. Metal beads were hollow laced ones of various shapes and size, with or without decoration. Bone and wooden beads were turned with a machine and decorated with carving. They could have various shape. Most popular material for such beads were walrus tusk and ivory, ebony and boxwood.
