Shelley M. Smith and Tara Prindle .
Beads are perhaps one of the earliest forms of Native American art.
Beads are by their nature, intended to be strung on cord and various techniques have developed and evolved over the millennia in the eastern Woodlands. Some methods of stringing beads are similar to those used in textile and basket weaving. Beadweaving shares many technical traits with woven mats and twined baskets, and it may have developed alongside these other industries. The string used can range from animal proteins such as twisted sinew or hide thong to twisted cord from numerous plants, bark and roots. Twisted cordage needed to be made from otherwise short fibers for beadweaving, as it requires a string long enough to go through a great length of beads.