Ancient Jewelry

See Also:
Sumerian jewelry Egyptian jewelry Greek jewelry Etruscan jewelry Celtic jewelry Roman jewelry

The oldest known objects that are believed to have served a decorative purpose for the human body are 110.000 years old. Drilled shell beads from this time (the middle paleolithic period) have been found in a cave in present day Morocco. Whether these shells have fulfilled a purely decorative purpose or were used as an amulet or status symbol is not known.

Other finds from throughout the middle and upper paleolithic era indicate a continuous use of organic materials for body decoration. It is this organic nature of the used materials that prevents us from getting a clear view of these peoples jewelry use: weathering and decay have destroyed most of it over time.

Neolithic Period

During the neolithic period stone working techniques evolved to the stage where certain stones could be drilled by others. Chip carving of softer materials like bone, wood and horn with the use of stone chisels reached levels of higher sophistication.

It was during this age that a vast exchanging network emerged. By the end of the neolithic period products that were in abundance or unique to one locality were traded by the people that had access to it to the neighbouring tribes, who, on their turn, would do the same again. Thus products that were desirable in everyday life, though unique to certain localities, dispersed over vast areas. This trade triggered an ever increasing contact between tribes and cultures, which by itself meant that techniques and innovations where dispersed faster as well. It also meant that life became easier due to the availability of useful products and new, more efficient, farming, fishing and hunting techniques and tools. It is in this era that social differences started to become bigger and bigger. The population of tribes could increase because of these improved farming techniques and an ever growing amount of specialisation. Social complexity moved up a step.

This increasing social complexity carried the social differentiation of certain people with it. Jewelry was an excellent way to discern oneself from others by being the only one wearing the biggest, the most beautiful and unique pieces. It added a function to jewelry: an expression of status. This function can be listed next to the then already existing purposes:

pure decoration, which is related to the prime purpose of each species: reproduction, appearance is important in choosing a partner to mate with.
the amuletic purpose, which is related to our deepest psyche and survival tool: the primal feeling of fear.

Bronze and Iron Ages

When metal working began and the neolithic period faded into the Bronze Age the phenomena described above intensified. The long distance trade, specialisation and social differentiation increased at a much faster rate then before. Societies grew immensely and the first real cities ruled by Kings where seen in Mesopotamia around 3000-2500BC. The script and the wheel where invented and further specialisation caused the first real professions to rise in the form of full time farmers and craftsmen. This 'total specialisation' caused a huge increase in skill and development of advanced techniques due to ones full dedication of time to one specific purpose. Gold became the highest regarded metal for jewelry purposes both due to it's exceptional color and lustre and it's malleability. This statement has one exception: The Egyptians favored silver over gold.

The Sumerian civilisations in Mesopotamia where the first to use techniques like filigree and granulation. Excavations of the ancient city of Ur have revealed royal graves with pieces featuring these techniques from as far back as 2500BC. The Sumerian craftsmen used gold and silver in combination with precious stones like agate, lapis lazuli and carnelian. The jewelry produced by the Sumerians consisted out of sheet gold cut into flower leaves, earrings, complicated gold chains and necklaces and even stone-inlaid finger rings.

From Mesopotamia the techniques have spread west to present day Turkey where excavations have revealed fine gold jewelry at Troy that has been dated to be from 2500-2300BC. The movement may have spread further west towards Greece and Crete, finds of lesser quality and slightly later date imply this.

On the other side of the Mediterranean jewellery began to play an important role by the 19th century BC in the Egyptian culture. The Egyptians developed many substitutes for precious stones. Faience and later glass beads have been found in great amounts. Precious stone simulants were invented and here to stay!

From about 1700BC the Minoan civilisation shows to have mastered the fine techniques of filigree, granulation and repoussé. The jewelry that has been unearthed on Crete shows strong influences from both Mesopotamia and Egypt but with a strong own design. The Minoan techniques and style jumped to mainland Greece with the city of Mycenae being the port of entry. The Mycenaean civilisation took over the Minoan decorative styles and gradually changed them into a style of their own.

Northern Europe came into it's Bronze Age around 2000BC and a few well made items from between 1800 and 1500BC have been excavated on the British Isles but it's only after 1500BC that the extent of the pre-Celtic cultures' metal jewelry becomes more apparent. Tin, gold and amber acted as natural riches that enabled the tribes living in these areas to trade with the Mediterranean cultures. Rich grave gifts at several spots suggest a fairly well developed society. Around 1100-1000BC a century of widespread disruption took place. The cultures that emerged from this century of regression, first the Urnfield culture and later The Hallstatt and La Tène cultures have picked up on the progressive line of technical development and craftsmanship that we are reading throughout this article.

The Celts used red enamel in their jewelry from around 400BC. The technique of applying enamel dates back to the Minoan and Mycenaean times when simple encrusted enameled pieces were made. The Celtic craftsmen took enamel application to the next level though, cloisonné and champlevé enamelling was used to make very colourful body decorations.

The Celtic culture encompassed a wide variety of cultures living in the northern part of Europe that shared the same style and technique of their (metal) products. As a result we see a somewhat uniform development in Celtic jewelry right up to the Roman conquest of the Celtic world in the first century BC.

From around 800BC the Phoenician traders started to establish colonies all around the Mediterranean. They came from the eastern Mediterranean coast, the area that is now Lebanon and Israel and have influenced the jewelry making of the Greeks and Etruscans. The Phoenicians were the connecting element between the long tradition of Egypt and Mesopotamia and the 'new' civilisations in Greece and Italy.

Intaglios and Cameos originated in ancient Greece where glyptography was perfected to an art form. The Greeks, like every other civilisation up until then, used stones that could be worked easily with the abrasives at hand yet that where hard enough to withstand the hardships of normal daily wear and tear. The most common abrasive in those times was quartz sand which was readily available and was used to polish cryptocrystalline quartz like agate and carnelian and softer materials like lapis lazuli.

One ancient culture that has left us splendid proof of their gold working skills were the Etruscans. From the 8th century BC on this civilisation perfected gold working techniques that were clearly influenced by the Greek cultures. The detail and fine detail of the Etruscan jewelry is of high quality and many colored stones were used. The Etruscan style was adopted by the Romans and formed the basis for Roman art and jewelry on many fronts. One of the things the Romans adopted from the Etruscans was the love for the use of precious stones in their jewelry.

The Roman Empire connected the western Asian cultures directly with the Celtic western European cultures. The excellent infrastructure provided by the Romans boosted trade enormously and triggered a vast exchange of products from east to west and vice versa. Along with it came new fashion ideas and the desire of innovating ones external expressions. The Celts 'romanized' quickly and took over Roman ideas of beauty. The characteristic Celtic jewelry made place for roman techniques and styles.

After the fall of the western Roman Empire the Great Migration of cultures put an end to the romanized Celtic civilisations. The inlaying of colored precious stones and the revival of the old Celtic champlevé enamelling makes jewelry from this period very colorful. The Eastern Roman Empire continued to exist far into the Middle Ages and developed a style of it's own, influenced by the East.