Almost everyone wears jewelry today. However, everyone does not worry about where it comes from, how old it is or what history is wrestling with this accessory. Basically, jewelry is just as old as mankind. Since time immemorial, people have felt the urge to adorn themselves, be it to express wealth, to symbolize power or simply because these sparkling objects are pleasing. The first jewelry was not an accessory in the sense you know it today.
Instead, the very first jewelry can be described as body painting. This was obtained from plant sap, different rocks and ground earth. Primitive peoples still adorn themselves in this ancient way today. While the first shapes and colors were chosen rather arbitrarily, symbolism developed over time, which stands for the social status of a person, for example. Accordingly, many thousands of years ago only medicine men and chiefs were allowed to wear jewelry.
Butterfly Pendant: The controversial history of jewelry
When it comes to clarifying how long people have been wearing jewelry like Butterfly Pendant, many different opinions collide. The first glance falls on the Stone Age 2.5 million years BC. As the oldest and longest epoch in human history, the first stone tools were made at this time. Metal was first used around 4,000 to 2,000 BC. Jewelry was already worn at this time.
Butterfly Pendant: Jewelry in 4,000 BC
It wasn’t until man invented metalworking that jewelry making changed radically. In the 4th millennium, jewelry played an important role in Egyptian life, as it gave the white linen robes a color accent. Jewelry also played a central role in the belief in death at the time. The funeral rituals allow so many pieces from that period to be preserved to this day. Egypt and the southern regions were the most important sources of gold in antiquity, which furnished the mummies of the pharaohs with a lot of gold and other jewelry. The dead were not only adorned with the jewelry they had worn during their lifetime, but also with specially made jewelry.
Butterfly Pendant: Jewelry today
Jewelry is now made in a wide variety of shapes, colors and sizes. Jewelry is no longer made exclusively from rare materials, but also from cheaper materials that are available in large quantities. Often used materials are for example gold, silver, jewels or stones.
Today it is possible to decorate practically any part of the body. Years ago there was the boom with piercings that adorned the nose, mouth and other parts of the body. Today, every wardrobe cannot be imagined without jewelry whether for men, women or children. There is a wide selection of jewelry for every taste and budget.