B eads are a many-faceted part of native history in north America and Canada. The 6-strand turquoise necklace at the left was made by the Joe Garcia family, Santo Domingo Pueblo, New Mexico, in 1984. It's a duplicate of one their daughter dances in. The beads are so carefully size-graduated there seems no break between them. The necklace is similar to some that were made thousands of years ago.
M aking beads is an old craft.
Sea shells, the commonest material for handmade beads, have been important native regional trade items for thousands of years. B eads were carved and shaped of animal horn, turtle shell, and deer hooves, often for dangling dance tinklers or rattlers. Animal teeth and claws were bored and strung. Bear or wolf-claw necklaces were proof of a hunter's powers. Wooden beads, sometimes dyed, were carved and drilled.