Earliest Known Handcrafted Jewelry...
Research indicates that self-adornment seems to be an archaic human trait... According to the Biblical story of Eve, self awareness is what made us human. What is it about humans and self-adornment? While today’s obsession with glittery gems and baubles is obvious, it might come as a surprise that humans have been making jewelry since the Stone Age. In fact, the earliest pieces of jewelry discovered coincide with man’s transition from nomadic roamer to settled villager, roughly 100,000 years ago. What the exact relationship between these factors is, we can’t say, but it’s safe to assume that the introduction of jewelry into our collective history reflects a significant shift in human consciousness. By examining early jewelry, its materials and uses,...