They don’t look like much, but these were probably used by ancient man (and woman!) to create primitive bead jewelry!

They don’t look very decorative, but scientists have once again found some of the oldest man-made “beads” ever discovered! These 82,000 year old small snail shells have evidence of a red paint applied to the sides and obvious stringing holes drilled into them by someone long, long ago.

Last year another discovery of ancient shell beads was reported, but this latest finding of beads seems to be much older than the first. National Geographic is reporting the find.

From the article:

In a paper published in the June issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the archaeologists suggest that the beads mark a shift in human development and the beginnings of modern cultural behavior.

“We think that they were capable of thinking symbolically and able to use one thing to represent another,” Nick Barton said.

Possibly the beads were used to establish group identity and indicate where certain people belonged.

Sure, they look ugly to us, but it’s amazing to think that these beads were one of the first “steps” humans took to become a more cultured society. It’s also fun to think that the creation of these early shells eventually lead to so many people all over the world enjoy bead jewelry and having boxes, closets and even rooms filled with intricate shiny beads made of glass, crystal, plastic, silver and so much more!