The Montelirio bead assemblage holds about 270,000 beads in a Copper Age tomb near Seville, Spain, marking buried women as ...

Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Archaeologists ...

Two of the most commonly accepted theories for the origin of money are the commodity theory and the chartalist theory. Both have drawbacks, but in recent years, the chartalist theory has gained much ...

As one of the most experienced archaeologists studying California’s Native Americans, Lynn Gamble knew the Chumash Indians had been using shell beads as money for at least 800 years. But an exhaustive ...

Human culture developed slowly in northern Africa and the Middle East rather than bursting forth in Europe, suggest scientists, who have discovered what may be the oldest shell beads dating back ...

ARLINGTON, Va.- Perforated shells found at South Africa's Blombos Cave appear to have been strung as beads about 75,000 years ago-making them 30,000 years older than any previously identified personal ...

Archaeologists show that the Chumash Indians had been using shell beads as money for at least 800 years. As one of the most experienced archaeologists studying California's Native Americans, Lynn ...

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA—According to a statement released by the University of California, Santa Barbara, archaeologist Lynn Gamble compared and measured different types of shell beads made by ...

An experimental replica of shell beads with Natufian red organic colorant made from the roots of Rubiaceae plants. (Laurent Davin/Creative Commons via Courthouse News) (CN) — The Natufians, the first ...

According to fashionistas, you are what your wear. But when did humans start decorating themselves for self-expression? Three bead-like shells from ancient Israel and Algeria suggest that such ...