OES Beads

People have produced ostrich eggshell (OES) beads for at least 50,000 years. They are the oldest type of ornaments to be fully manufactured and mass produced, and all share the same general appearance (small round discs with a central perforation). Archaeologists commonly recover OES beads in Africa; however, they have also been reported from archaeological sites in China, India, Mongolia, and Russia. The bead‐making tradition continued in Africa, where OES beads formed an important part of gift‐exchange systems. Today, modern OES beaded jewelry is still sold in craft shops, particularly in southern Africa.