The History of Necklaces

Archeologists believe the necklace was born during the stone age about 40,000 years before than previously believed. April 2004, scientists were excavating a cave in South Africa discovered forty-one mollusks that may have been strung as neck jewelry about 75,000 years ago.

Before this discovery the oldest known necklace to have been found about 30,000 B.C. They are made mostly of shells, bones, stones, animal teeth or claws, strung on a thread. Basically the same concept is used today though there are some variations

In 2500 B.C. gold was starting to be used in neck jewelry. Gold neck adornments and chokers have been discovered at the Royal Grave of Ur. They are in what is now known as Iraq. 2000 B.C. was when Sumerian bead neck jewelry started to use alternating patterns of colored stones and gemstones and metals such as copper or silver.

Ancient Egyptian neck jewelry evolved from simple stringed beads to complicated patterns and include the