KNOWING JEWELRY AND JEWELRY
TERMINOLOGY

The first jewelry was probably made of shells, bright seeds, or soft stones that could be easily pierced and strung together. The harder gems and stones, pretty as they were, were more likely only toys or playthings until skills advanced and they could be used in jewelry.

Superstition was an influence in the evolution of jewelry, too. Ancient peoples had a strong belief in sympathetic magic as a means of understanding nature. Some experts think that the wearing of pieces of jewelry as talismans was more important than the idea of personal adornment. A hunter's necklace or bracelet of tiger's teeth or an adornment of feathers may have signified primarily his hopes for more game. They may also have been status symbols, with the more tiger's teeth or feathers indicating the greater the hunter the wearer was.

Jewelry certainly did confer status in later, although still ancient, times. Regardless of the civilization, jewelry was the prerogative of men more than of women. Although women wore jewelry, especially women of high rank, gems in particular were the province of men. Jewelry was a symbol of a man's wealth and position, a wealth and position that women-except for queens like Cleopatraderived from fathers or husbands.

The type of jewelry was significant, too. From early times the circle has had a mystical and religious meaning that undoubtedly carried over to rings. Rings were often practical, as well as decorative, with the stones or metal carved to make a seal that could be impressed in wax.