Tiny beads are revealing big stories about human prehistory. A decade-long study of more than 1,500 beads found across Africa has revealed a 50,000-year-old social network, archaeologists say.

Ancient African Communities Living 1,800 Miles Away From Each Other Making Identical ... Miller analyzed over 1,500 ostrich eggshell beads recovered from 31 archaeological sites across eastern ...

Ostrich eggshell beads reveal 10,000 years of cultural interaction across Africa. ScienceDaily . Retrieved June 2, 2025 from www.sciencedaily.com / releases / 2019 / 11 / 191127161512.htm ...

Our aim was to see how ostrich eggshell bead size has changed over the past 10,000 years. ... Curiously, the larger beads in southern Africa fall within the range of eastern African beads, ...

Almost identical beads made from ostrich eggshells have been discovered by researchers in eastern and southern Africa that date back more than 50,000 years.

Hunter-gatherers strung a social safety net across much of southern Africa starting at least 33,000 years ago, a new study suggests. And it was held together with ostrich eggshell beads.

"The waist beads are known all over Africa and I think today, it's become an everyday thing in even our modern culture," Nathalie Beasnael said. Beasnael is from Chad, ...

Beads found in S. African Blombos cave appear to be around 75,000 years old ...

The Ubuhle Women exhibit at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids displays artwork created by South African women using Czech glass beads. Shot on Monday, May 7, 2018.