Neolithic stone pearls from early settlements in Sahara, North Africa - 5000 BC


Tabular disk beads
Largest piece: 17 * 10 mm      smallest  3 * 10 mm


 

                            
Largest disk piece: 18 * 5 mm

The drilling technique of neolithic beads
These beads were produced with the simplest tools!

Here you can see the drills used for the pecking of the holes.
The pecking was done from both sides of the bead.



Most beads from the neolithic period are noot too long.
When you look at the drills above it gives sense that the beads were mostly tabular.
Drilling of long holes in long beads began is avery difficult and began with the Copper bronce
age in West Asia and the Indus valley. It has not been possible to replicate this process of
bead making in modern time. On the sites we find a lot of broken beads that tells us that
this kind of bead making was also difficult for the neolithic people.

12 * 11 mm
In these more rare biconical carnelian beads, the pecking hole is uneven,
often taking shape like a hour glass.

Here is a typical neolithic hand grinding stone:


At that time all beads were hand grinded on these stones.
Many of the beads from Sahara displayed above are not completely finished.
They still have the marks of the pecking all over.
 


Neolitic neclace 1 - click on picture for larger image


Neolitic neclace 2 - click on picture for larger image