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The name is the word for shell bead in the Eastern Keresan language of the Santo Domingo Indians. [ 2 ] The oldest specimens of heishe date back to around 6000 BCE, although the same technique was used in northern Africa 30,000 years ago, using ostrich eggshell.
Ostrich eggshell beads are often used as personal adornment. Though it is difficult to determine the use of these beads in the past, Collins et al. conclude that the beads with depressions could have been sewn onto clothing or bags as adornment. Another possibility is that the beads were placed on necklaces or strings as jewelry. [1]
Shell jewelry is jewelry that is primarily made from seashells, the shells of marine mollusks. Shell jewelry is a type of shellcraft . One very common form of shell jewelry is necklaces that are composed of large numbers of beads , where each individual bead is the whole (but often drilled) shell of a small sea snail .
Several African nations outside of Egypt have beadwork traditions. Aggry (also spelled aggri or aggrey) beads, a type of decorated glass bead, are used by Ghanaians and other West Africans to make necklaces and bracelets that may be traded for other goods. [36] These beads are often believed to have magical medicinal of fertility powers.
In modern times, beads cut from other types of shell, or even beads of plastic, are used to make imitation puka jewellery. Cone snail shells are sometimes harvested so that they can be chipped and ground down to make more authentic-looking puka jewellery, which is however still not genuine by the standards of the originals. [citation needed]
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The beads and shells were also used to make jewellery and to decorate masks, ceremonial dresses, and costumes. Central Africa: Raffia weaving, embroidered gowns, crocheted gowns, and feathered hats are all unique to the country of Cameroon. The Kuba use applique to strengthen the raphia cloth used for skirts.
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