Jewelry History
A piece of jewelry is typically a personal ornament that is worn somewhere on a person's body. Such ornaments could be a necklace, bracelet or a ring that is made of precious metals, gemstones, wood or other kinds of materials.
Yet jewelry has had many different functions throughout its history. Jewelry has been used as protection, artistic display, currency, symbolism, and as functional use. Many cultures have used jewelry as a form of currency, to trade goods with or to buy food or other useful objects with. Jewelry has also been used as a dowry for wedding and joinings between two families.
Jewelry has been used as functional objects. They have been used as brooches, buckles, clasps or buttons to hold pieces of clothing together. They could also be used to hold other objects together, like pieces of fabric or curtains.
Another very popular way in which jewelry has been used is as symbolism, many times for a religious or spiritual purpose. Christians, for example, sometimes wear a Christian crucifix to display their belief in the religion. Jews, also, will wear sometimes the Jewish Star of David.
As a source of protection, jewelry has been worn by people. Some people believe that to wear certain symbolic ornaments they can protect themselves from evil or ill-will. There have been many ancient cultures that believed and did this.
And some people wore, and still do, jewelry as a display of artistic tastes. Wearing jewelry and certain kinds of jewelry can reveal what level of society a person fits into or what their level of wealth was. Also, some people liked to wear artistic pieces of jewelry to show off the maker's workmanship and creativity.
The first piece of jewelry known to be worn in history is the Narcissus bead. These have been found through excavations of the home areas of the Cro-Magnons, the ancestors of the Homo sapiens, which was from around 40,000 years ago. Along with this bead more jewelry pieces found include bone, teeth, stone, animal sinew, mother-of-pearl, shell, and mammoth tusk.
As the years passed, more evolved methods of making jewelry were created. More metals were discovered and were manipulated to be made into pieces of jewelry. The first signs of an established jewelry making was found in Ancient Egypt. This was found to be around 3,000 to 5,000 years ago.
Ancient Egyptians were known for loving luxurious and rare pieces of works and metals. Many goldsmiths used this metal to make jewelry and pieces of ornaments that would eventually come to symbolize the wealth and power of the ancient Egyptians.
Jewelry has continued to advance as the years have passed through history. More advanced technology has been created and, therefore, more elaborate, intricate and sophisticated has been made.
Amber Singleton is a writer for Shopreplica.com, which is not just an on-line shop but also a user-friendly guide that makes shopping very easy for all. Shopreplica.com offers wholesale jewelry from names like Tiffany & Co., Bulgari, Chopard, and Cartier. Their team of experts have years of experience and can give their customers expert advice for any questions they may have. They can also help anyone find the perfect gift or the right products for any occasion.