Prehistoric Sea Life

Life began in the sea billions of years ago. The first living things were bits of material that had the ability to reproduce themselves. Over time they evolved into organized groups of living materials called cells. In each cell various blobs of living material have various functions. Later cells evolved into organized collections of cells in which various cells had various functions. Eventually these collections of cells organized into organs which make up plants and later animals. Later, these sea animals evolved into various forms and eventually became fish. Later they evolved into reptiles and amphibians (like turtles) which live in the sea and also on land. Some reptiles evolved into completely land animals. Later mammals evolved on land, but a few species like the whales returned to the ocean.

The Beadshaper has opened a new gallery on her web site for handcrafted glass sea animal beads. To see the gallery, go to http://www.beadshaper.com/gallery and click the Sea Life link.

Prehistoric Jewelry

The oldest evidences of the use of jewelry were necklaces, bracelets, and painted seashells found in caves in North Africa from about 80,000 years ago. Neanderthal people were believed to have worn seashell necklaces about 50,000 years ago. Animal teeth were worn as necklaces in addition to shells. People started importing exotic materials for making accessories that were not found in their own locations around 30,000 years ago. Beads were at times used for trading in primitive commerce. This was the precursor of money. Jewelry were manifestations of people’s awareness of their identities and were part of the progress toward civilization. Ultimately with the onset of civilization in Mesopotamia and Egypt, jewelry became more elaborate.