Beads, bracelets, necklaces, pendants and many other ornaments are familiar objects that play a fundamental role in personal expression and communication. This book considers how and why the human relationship with ornaments developed and continued over tens of thousands of years, from hunter-gatherer life in the cave to urban elites, from expedient use of natural resources to complex technologies. Using evidence from archaeological sites across Turkey, the Near East and the Balkans, it explores the history of personal ornaments from their appearance in the Palaeolithic until the rise of urban centres in the Early Bronze Age and encompassing technologies ranging from stone cutting to early glazing, metallurgy and the roots of glass manufacture. The development of theoretical and practical approaches to ornaments and the current state of research are illustrated with a wide variety of examples. This book shows that far from being objects of display, of little value in archaeological interpretation and often overlooked, these artefacts are key to understanding trade, relationships, values, beliefs and the construction of personal identity in the past. Indeed, more than any other group of artefacts, their variety in material, form, use and distribution opens doors to both wide ranging scientific exploration and consideration of what it is to be human.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• 1. Introduction
  • What is a personal ornament?
  • Personal ornaments as an academic subject
  • Ornaments in prehistory: a very long story
  • What is in this book?
• 2. Personal ornaments: why are they important in prehistory?
  • Excavating and interpreting personal ornaments: a process
  • Personal issues: identity, memory and material entanglements
  • Practical issues: procurement, technology and use
  • Economic issues: value and specialisation
• 3. Geography, temporality and interpretation
  • Geographic variation: landscape, materials and ornaments
  • Continuity and change: the long view of ornament use
  • Personal ornaments and the archaeological narrative
• 4. Starting at the beginning: the Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic
  • Shells, the sea and faraway places
  • Bead technologies at the beginning
  • More materials, and the beginning of a long story
  • Box 1 – Artefact biography: shell beads from Direkli Cave, Turkey
• 5. Changing times? The Early Neolithic
  • Memories of times past
  • New practices in settled life
  • Stone technology: knowledge, choices and raw materials
  • Stone technology: production areas and skill
  • The value of ornaments and recycling
  • Box 2 – Artefact biography: recycled stone pendant from Boncuklu Höyük, Turkey
• 6. Settled life and identity: the established Neolithic
  • Still looking back to times past
  • Changing technologies and new materials
  • The technology of changing colour
  • Production areas and the beginning of specialisation
  • Ornaments on the body and identity in burial
  • Box 3 – Artefact biography: a blue bead from the site of Barcın Höyük, Turkey
• 7. New technologies and interactions: the Chalcolithic
  • Trade networks and adventures at sea
  • Complex technologies and making things
  • A bolder aesthetic and the question of meaning
  • Looking back, the long story
  • Box 4 – Artefact biography: a shell pendant from Canhasan I, Turkey
• 8. Ornaments and the coming of civilisation? The Early Bronze Age
  • More new materials, value and trade
  • The seal and beads in ownership
  • How many, who and how? Established specialisation
  • Looking forward: history built on strong foundations
  • Box 5 – Artefact biography: lapis lazuli bead, Başur Höyük, Turkey
• 9. Personal ornaments: dependencies, interactions and long-term change
  • Economy: ornaments and specialisation
  • Society: ornaments, connections and communications
  • Identity: ornaments in the long term
  • Is it change yet? Envisioning a narrative approach
  • What next?
• Bibliography