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October 15, 1999 |
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| Did you know that when you put those curlers in your hair or trimmed your beard this morning you were actually practicing an ancient beauty ritual? And for thousands and thousands of years, so have many other men and women. In fact, one of the earliest examples of hair curling is that famous lady of the Paleolithic Age, the Venus of Willendorf (see right). This limestone figurine, more than 25,000 years old and discovered in what is now Austria, demonstrates that lovely ladies around the world have been braiding and curling their hair since the dawn of time. An even earlier example is that sassy siren known as the Brassempouy Lady, an ivory figurine dating back to approximately 36,000 B.C. in France. This figurine depicts a woman with her hair covered in some sort of snood or net—an indication that even prehistoric women were concerned about bad hair days! |
Above: The Venus of Willendorf, c. 25,000 B.C. (1) |
| Our African ancestors have also provided us with many examples of early adornment. Carnelian beads, dating back 6,000 years, have been discovered in northern Africa. Many of the people from this area believed that these red-colored stones held special medicinal powers, such as clotting blood. Thus they were often used to make jewelry, such as earrings and necklaces, in order to protect the wearer against disease and sickness. Ancient Africans also made beaded jewelry out of clay, bone, horn, hair—even ostrich eggshells! A process dating back to 7000 B.C. in Kenya, ostrich eggshells, which are surprisingly hard and thick, were chipped and rounded into beads and used for jewelry. Next >>> | |
