Have you ever wondered how jewelry became a part of our society and culture? The original use of jewelry was clothing, and “jewelry” wasn’t originally made from precious metals or dazzling gemstones. Prehistoric humans combined animal skins and bird feathers with shells, fishbones, fish teeth, animal bones, antlers, tusks, and colored pebbles.
After the discovery of gold and precious stones, jewelry became used as ornamentation for every part of the body, including crowns, tiaras, hairpins, earrings, nose rings, lip rings, earplugs, necklaces, brooches, breastplates, belts, armlets, bracelets, rings, toe rings, and shoe buckles. Archeologists have made jewelry-related discoveries from cultures around the world and are now displaying these amazing designs in several museums.
Jewelry has an important history with many nations and cultures… having humble beginnings as a form of clothing then morphing into ornamentation celebrating the hierarchy, social status, marriages, battles, death, offerings to gods and goddesses, religious symbols, omens, and signs of office.
Jewelry has so many forms and so many means that we could fill an entire encyclopedia with the stories of jewelry’s cultural significance. If you have any stories you’d like to tell, feel free to reach out to Jenny at jenny@jennybutterfield.com. She would love to incorporate some of your jewelry knowledge into her designs.