maybe one of you knows...

[NastyWoman]

I just came back from a road trip with my sister through the SW.
At one point we were near Spruce House in Mesa Verde and were looking at the displays there. Among other things there was a good amount of native jewelry on display when all of a sudden it struck me: how did they make these really beads so tiny and so consistently shaped? Does any of you know? I mean it wasn't like they could have gone to Michaels or a bead store and the designs, while pretty, weren't THAT impressive. Even I can do that. But were did those beads come from? Who made them and how in the pre-industrial era?

[Deleted]

Just guessing here.

I do know that water action can swirl small stones & tend to make them round. I doubt that would apply to that area (unless they were traded with other tribes).

On the other hand they had lots of sand. Constant motion with sand could smooth small stones.

Or maybe they just picked them up?

All of that is just guesses because I don't know.

[weltschmerz]

One type of ancient technique for the manufacture of beads is still in use today, primarily by the tribes in the American Southwest. It is referred to as heishii. Manufactured of shells, turquoise or other semi-precious stones, heishii beads are made by first breaking the raw material into small pieces. The beadworker then makes a small hole through each piece with a hand-pump drill.

The resulting heishii beads are then strung on sturdy cord. The string of beads is rolled back and forth on a piece of fine sandstone until they are "sanded" into uniform-sized beads, with smooth edges.

Necklaces made with heishii beads are many-stranded, sometimes with only one type of bead, sometimes with many types. The most common material is turquoise in combination with beads made of shells.


Article Source: EzineArticles.com/5726083

[NastyWoman]

The heshii method might have worked but I am talking about beads the size of mini seed beads. Wouldn't those just break? Since I started to think about this, I have decided that the true artistry of this particular type of jewelry lies in the making of the beads and not the end product.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

The natives created their own tools from things around them (needles from bone or quills, thread from the air of horse's manes, etc, or from leather cord made from tanned hides). They had methods of polishing and creating the shapes of the more 'soft' stones and minerals with these tools (like turquoise for example) by using abrasion (sand, grains) to help form the shapes and make them smooth (much like rock tumblers are used by some crafters of more rustic or natural jewelry for wearing-down and polishing the stones). They had tools which they created to make a hole in the center of the beads so they could be woven or sewn into intricate patterns and designs.