The Oldest Beads Found So Far

How many ancient objects are lying forgotten or undiscovered in  dusty corners of modern museums?   The following story is a case in point. 

It seems that around 100,000 years ago, people living in what are now Israel and Algeria were already wearing jewelry made of tiny pierced shells.  Researchers rediscovered these ancient beads by combing through old museum collections at the Natural History Museum in London and in Paris at the Musee de l'Homme, where they had lain virtually untouched since the 1930s and 1940s.  So far the researchers have rediscovered three shell beads from two different sites. 

The shells belong to a Mediterranean species called Nessarius gibbosulus.  The beads were found so far inland that researchers believe they must have been intentionally brought there from the Mediterranean coast.  Did people bring these beads with them during migrations inland, or do they represent evidence of early trade between coastal peoples and those living farther inland? 

There is an interesting sidelight to this story.  The same researchers who discovered the Mediterranean shells also found a collection of shells discovered at the famous Blombos Cave in South Africa.  These beads, dated to about 75,000 years ago, are also made of Nessarius gibbosulus shells. 

More information about these beads can be found here