History of Bronze

The Bronze Age was the period from about 4000 BC to 1200 BC, coming after the Stone Age and before the Iron Age. By the end of the Stone Age, ancient people had developed the ability to mine copper and other metals. Copper itself is soft and easily bent and dented. It is good for wire because of its flexibility. At the beginning of the Bronze Age, people found that by alloying copper with other metals, they could produce one that was stronger than copper alone. That metal is known as bronze. The most common metal combined with copper to make bronze is zinc. Bronze was used to make to make tools, vessels, jewelry, and other items. Later with the onset of the Iron Age, iron was found to be stronger for the more heavy duty tools. However, bronze remained preferred for more artistic endeavors like jewelry and statues. You can see bronze jewelry as well as other jewelry made from other metals at Beadshaper

Beads as Money

The earliest trade was barter. Shells became a medium of exchange in China more than 3000 years ago. Beads have been popular for adornment and therefore as a medium of exchange in Africa and among the native people of the Americas for an unknown number of centuries. The Chumash Indians on the Channel Islands off the coast of California made shell beads that were used for trade among the Indians of the American West Coast and even what is now the Inland Southwestern United States. Beads were used as currency by the early European explorers in trading with the American Indians. Beads were believed to have been among the items used in the purchase of the Island of Manhattan by Dutch settlers. Glass beads manufactured in Europe were used as currency in the African slave trade.
You can purchase beads for adornment or any purpose at Beadshaper .

Tourmaline

Tourmaline is a multi-colored stone which has been known in various parts of the world for at least 2000 years. The name tourmaline comes from the Sinhalese word turmali which was the name given to stones from the island of Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Dutch traders re-discovered tourmaline in the early 1700s on the island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea, and the stone has been popular in the Western world since then.
The small greenish stones in the bead crochet necklace pictured here are tourmaline. Tourmaline is one of the stones which the Beadshaper uses in making her Bead Crochet jewelry.