The Functions of Jewellery: Ancient & Contemporary

Written by Chayle Bowen For NSCAD University seminar "Jewellery of Ancient Cultures" 2010. ... It is difficult to define and quantify the functions of pre-historic jewellery because there is no written record from the people of that time. It is difficult to know for sure what the intent and functions of jewellery in pre-historic times were. Objects found that date back to Paleolithic and Neolithic eras can be difficult to define as jewellery or not. For example, objects with holes carved through them are often categorized as beads and thought of as jewellery, but we don't know for sure how they...