Ostrich eggshell beads, considered among the earliest ornaments created by Homo sapiens,[1][2] represent some of the most ancient fully manufactured beads.[3] Archaeologists have traced their origins back to the Late Pleistocene, with evidence suggesting they were crafted as early as 75,000 years ago in Africa.[4] Certain populations continue to produce and utilize these beads in contemporary times.[5]
Ostrich eggshell beads likely originated from eastern Africa.[3] They appear in the archaeological record all throughout Africa in a variety of contexts, including those of foraging, herding, and farming societies.[2] They are particularly well-represented in the archaeological record of the Holocene,[2] and are well-studied in eastern and southern Africa.[3] They can be useful to archaeologists as a way to study symbolic meanings, the creation and maintenance of social identities, exchange, and can even be used to radiocarbon date sites.[6] They also appear in the archaeological record of Asia, with some beads dating to 12,000 years old.[5]
^Collins, Benjamin; Wojcieszak, Marine; Nowell, April; Hodgskiss, Tammy; Ames, Christopher J. H. (2020-07-29). "Beads and bead residues as windows to past behaviours and taphonomy: a case study from Grassridge Rockshelter, Eastern Cape, South Africa". Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. 12 (8). doi:10.1007/s12520-020-01164-5. ISSN 1866-9557. S2CID 220837809.
^ abcMiller, Jennifer M.; Sawchuk, Elizabeth A. (2019-11-27). "Ostrich eggshell bead diameter in the Holocene: Regional variation with the spread of herding in eastern and southern Africa". PLOS ONE. 14 (11): e0225143. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0225143. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 6880992. PMID 31774851.
^ abcMiller, Jennifer M.; Wang, Yiming V. (2021-12-20). "Ostrich eggshell beads reveal 50,000-year-old social network in Africa". Nature. 601 (7892): 234–239. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-04227-2. ISSN 0028-0836. PMC 8755535. PMID 34931044.
^Solomon, Tessa (2022-01-19). "Following a Trail of Ancient Ostrich Beads, Scientists Discover the World's Oldest Social Network". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
^ abSawchuk, Elizabeth; Miller, Jennifer Midori. "The tiny ostrich eggshell beads that tell the story of Africa's past". The Conversation. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
^Tryon, Christian A.; Lewis, Jason E.; Ranhorn, Kathryn L.; Kwekason, Amandus; Alex, Bridget; Laird, Myra F.; Marean, Curtis W.; Niespolo, Elizabeth; Nivens, Joelle; Mabulla, Audax Z. P. (2018-02-28). "Middle and Later Stone Age chronology of Kisese II rockshelter (UNESCO World Heritage Kondoa Rock-Art Sites), Tanzania". PLOS ONE. 13 (2): e0192029. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0192029. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 5830042. PMID 29489827.
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Ostricheggshellbeads, considered among the earliest ornaments created by Homo sapiens, represent some of the most ancient fully manufactured beads. Archaeologists...
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J.; Dewar, Genevieve; Gleason, James D.; Blum, Joel D. (2020). "Ostricheggshellbead strontium isotopes reveal persistent macroscale social networking...
Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 14 Jun 2012. Routledge, Jennifer (2020). "OstrichEggshell from the Far Eastern Steppe: Stable Isotopic Exploration of Range,...
been attributed to the large presence of its large assemblage of ostricheggshellbeads and more importantly, the abundance of microlith technology. Because...
container and for decorative artwork, including beads. The eggs are not commonly eaten. The female common ostrich lays her fertilized eggs in a single communal...
cultures which included other evidence of human activity, such as ostricheggshellbeads and worked bone implements, and lacked Middle Stone Age stone tools...
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other covers the top. Traditionally leather wraps covered with ostricheggshellbeads were the norm for women's undergarments, though these are now uncommon...
forager communities in Africa have used ostricheggshellbeads. Archaeologists believe that the increase in bead production links prehistoric cultures to...
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modest amounts of fauna vertebrae and artefactual remains such as ostricheggshellbeads. Several middens have been found at Paternoster. One of these midden...
There are evidences showing Stone Age habitation in Patne including ostricheggshellbeads, chalcedony and jasper tools. In medieval times, the village was...
excavations of the earliest layer of desposition yielded eight ostricheggshellbeads and a pierced bone disc. Only one fragment of an iron slag has been...
flaked small knives and discoidal cores. Thirteen complete ostricheggshellbeads, 12 bead preforms, and 593 shells fragments were found in this layer...
carefully shaped and perforated beads made from ostricheggshell fragments. One particular piece of an ostricheggshell, incised with a distinctive criss-cross...
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the Middle Stone Age (MSA). Direct dating on Achatina shell and ostricheggshellbeads indicates that the oldest human burials at Mlambalasi (and thus...
conquered the world". New Scientist. Brian Stewart; et al. (Mar 2020). "Ostricheggshellbead strontium isotopes reveal persistent macroscale social networking...
well. The upper layers of the mound revealed carved ivory, ostricheggshellbeads, glass beads, and copper trade goods. Radiocarbon testing has dated the...
PMID 33953416. S2CID 233871256. Miller, J. M.; Wang, Y. V. (2021). "Ostricheggshellbeads reveal 50,000-year-old social network in Africa". Nature. 601 (7892):...
shell beads, refined bone and stone tools and a broad range of terrestrial and marine faunal remains, including shellfish, birds, tortoise and ostrich egg...
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beads, clay beads, quartz biconical beads, disc beads, faceted cylinder beads, brown glass and ostricheggshellbeads are also part of the found grave goods...