Origin of Jewelry
Good question indeed, where did jewelry come from? What is the origin of Jewelry?
It all began when man first walked the earth; being a hunter, man would collect trophies from his hunting sprees and would often wear them to show prowess and bravery. These trophies comprised of teeth from the hunt, hide, horns, bones and even claws! The villagers in that day would give respect to a hunter who would come from hunting wearing adornments of fierce animals. The more the hunter wore them the more privileges he received in the village!
Often times, the hunter would wear these adornments in his next quest believing they would bring him good luck. With time, the early societies adopted this and would wear jewelry for protection against bad luck or illnesses.
How Jewelry Came Into Being
Jewelry then evolved and was made into symbols that the wearers believed would bring good fortune over their lives, for instance in wealth, love, fertility to name a few. Ancient jewelry was also made from feathers, porcupine quill, shells, colourful curved stones or pebbles, wood and animal skin.
As time went by, the meaning of jewelry begun to change and it became a symbol of identification in human interactions. This was evident in that men and women belonging to certain clans or tribes were differentiated and identified by the jewelry they wore.
For instance, it would be easy to identify a person who comes from the Masai tribe by looking at the jewelry he wore.
Jewelry In Exchange
Jewelry was used as a mode of exchange in barter trade, in attainment of puberty ceremonies in Africa as well as in payment of dowry in wedding ceremonies. Sadly, it was also used in slave trade where slaves would be forced to wear bracelets to denote which master they belonged to. In some parts of Africa, jewelry was used to disfigure facial features thus make men look more fierce or mark their women in such a way that other tribes would not find them attractive enough to steal them as their brides!
Most of the jewelry items we see today begun as useful objects in ancient times. This includes brooches and pins which originated from the need to hold clothing together. Pendants and rings were used as signage, seals and symbols of authority and status. Today, Artisans and Entrepreneurs use jewelry to do good and make a difference in society.
The story behind Jewelry in Ancient Times is interesting; evidently, jewelry comes from far! Next time someone asks you where did jewelry come from? At least you have a story to tell!
