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Anthropological Study of Beads in the World

Research period:2016.10-2018.3

IKEYA Kazunobu

Keywords

beads , cultural history , trade ,

Objectives

This study focuses on beads (including tombodama (glass beads) and magatama (comma-shaped beads)) owned by Minpaku, for the purpose of shedding light on the role of beads in human lives. First of all, beads are defined as materials threaded together on a string. The materials range widely from nuts to plant seeds, animal teeth or bones, shells, ostrich eggshells, stones, minerals, such as gold and amber, iron, glass, clay, and plastic. In addition, beadwork also ranges widely in shape from a line like a necklace to a plane like a bag. On top of these, not only do they serve as clothing accessories, they also perform a social role by being a symbol of wealth or social prestige or an identity of a group. In this study, in addition to the analysis of materials used in making beads per se that Minpaku has, we look at the beads’ technological, social, and economic significance mainly in historical and archaeological materials or ethnography and discuss whether humans’ attempt to pursue beauty is universal or not.

Research Results

This study yielded the following three findings. First, although beads have been a subject of studies both in Japan and abroad by investigators from diverse fields including prehistory, archeology, history, ethnology, and aesthetics, the accomplishments of these studies can be placed within two frameworks: “beads of the world” and “human history and beads.” Second, a focus on bead materials allows the classification of beads made with animal- or plant-based materials or seashells as “beads in culture” and of beads made of rock or glass as “beads in civilization.” In particular, the adoption of glass as a bead material served not only to provide consumers with beads as a status symbol, but it also helped connect people worldwide through the medium of beads. Additionally, as exemplified by the Carnelian beads of the Indus Valley, bead materials were also involved in the formation and development of human civilizations. Third, the relationships between beads and the cultures of diverse ethnic groups worldwide have also been an important theme for research. Study group discussions spanned a diverse array of topics, including differences in the preferences of individual ethnic groups for certain bead materials and the factors behind those differences, secular change in bead use, and the popularity and decline of bead use on Japan’s main island of Honshu.
 
As indicated above, a variety of case studies together with a continual quest for universal attributes have succeeded in demonstrating the depth of research aimed at identifying the significance of beads to humankind.