A History of Native American Bead Bracelets
Go to: Previous Article Next Article
As far back as recorded, Native Americans made beads out of materials such as shells, coral, turquoise, stone, metals, wood, ivory, bones, and teeth. Just about anything that could be carved or shaped was used as a material for beads. This first instance of glass beads happened once the colonists brought them over from Europe about 500 years ago. The incorporation of glass beads was similar to that of horses; the quickly became a huge part of Native American culture. Still today, glass beads exist as the most important material that traditional bead makers use in the surviving tribes.
The variety of Native American beading traditions, designs, and styles varies as much as the various amount of tribes and nations. The bead work that is best known is that of the Plains Indians. Their beads consisted of intricate peyote stitch and bone hairpipe chokers. Another group with popular work was that of the Southwest Indians who made their beads out of shell and turquoise. Up north from there, the West Coast Indians' intricate beadwork was made of bone and tusk.
Beads have been a common item used for trade since ancient times. This use created a great amount of mixing between tribes, allowing for a greater blend of different types of beads. This form of currency worked well because of the value that Native Americans placed on beads and jewelry. Being people of the land, they saw great pride in the work that they put into crafting the beads. This form of trade transported certain materials to places where they were rare and uncommon.
From a very general outlook, native beadwork can be separated into two groups, beaded leather and beaded strands. Beaded leather was more commonly clothing and apparel. Whereas beaded strands consist of necklaces, bracelets, and other forms of jewelry. The beaded leather was constructed by Indian people who would sew the beads into the leather backing. For the beaded strands, a craftsperson put the beads on strings made of thread or wire. Both beading strands and beading onto leather are very complicated and time-consuming time consuming tasks that require years of practice.
The record of bead making throughout the world is widespread but generally comparable. Bead making is a practice that has been passed down by generations. It is amazing how something so simple today held such great value in the past. Anything that was developed into a type of currency will remain a value for years to come, and has proven so.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
- Credit Cards A big selection of Cards in all flavors: Bad Credit Cards, Secured Cards, Prepaid Cards, Credit Cards for Canada, Low Interest Cards, etc -
Word Count: 423
Reduce Your Debts Without Bankruptcy. See How Much You Can Save. Free Debt Analysis
