The History of Beads：From 30,000 B.C. to the Present

Initsoriginalhardcoveredition(1987),thisremarkablebookwasthefirstcomprehensivehistoryofbeadseverpublished.Itincludesseveralthousandexamplesofbeads,beadedjewelry,andbeadworkrepresenting30,000yearsofhistoryanddrawnfromeverymajorcultureandregionoftheworld.Nowlargelyunavailableinhardcoverandstillthemostauthoritativebookonthesubject,itisfinallyavailableinpaperbackataveryattractiveprice.Forthousandsofyears,beadshaveplayedanimportantrolethroughouttheworld,fromJapantoCameroon.Thishighlyunusualandinnovativevolumesurveysthefascinatingstoryoftheirevolution:beadshavebeenusedasamediumoftrade,astalismans,aspersonaladornment,asstatussymbols,andasreligiousartifacts.Theyarecapsulesofcultural,historical,andtechnologicalinformation.Thisambitioussurveyofbeadsandtheiruniquecontributiontohistoryfeaturesmorethan380illustrations,mostinfullcolor,aspectacularillustratedtimelineofbeadhistory,detailedmaps,achartofbeadshapes,andahighlyreadabletextbyLoisSherrDubin.