Trade beads are small objects that people used to exchange goods and services in early human communities. They are thought to be one of the first ways humans traded with each other. Some people believe that trading beads played a role in helping humans develop language.

Slave beads

In sixteenth-century North America, trade beads (sometimes called aggry or slave beads) were colorful glass beads used as a type of money to trade for goods, services, and people (which is why they are called slave beads). These beads were used in Native American jewelry with different beadwork methods. Aggry beads are a specific kind of decorated glass beads made in Ghana. This practice continued until the early 1900s.

History

Trade beads were created to help European explorers and traders move through Africa. These beads were made in Europe, with Venetians leading production. In 2022, archaeologists found that European-made beads were still used with African trade routes as late as the late 1800s.

Trade beads are also found in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. Bead designs varied, and North American Indigenous groups preferred certain colors, sizes, and shapes. The number of times each bead type is found in archaeological digs shows how popular they were. Large blue beads were popular early in the trade, though the exact start of European trade with Native Americans is unclear.

In February 2021, Venetian glass trade beads were discovered at three prehistoric Eskimo sites in Alaska, including Punyik Point. This area, now uninhabited and near the Continental Divide in the Brooks Range, was part of ancient trade routes from the Bering Sea to the Arctic Ocean. Researchers believe the beads traveled from Venice, Italy, across Europe, then through Eurasia, and finally over the Bering Strait. This discovery marked the first clear evidence of European materials in prehistoric sites in the Western Hemisphere, transported overland through Eurasia. Radiocarbon dating of nearby materials suggested the beads arrived between 1440 and 1480, before Christopher Columbus. However, some researchers question this, noting that Venetian beads were not made until the mid-1500s and a French origin in the early 1600s is possible.

Trade beads became so popular that tons were used for trade. They were stored as ballast on ships traveling from Africa to Europe, and later exchanged for enslaved people, ivory, gold, and other goods. Beads were not made in a fixed design but produced based on demand. Millefiori beads from Venice, known as "African trade beads," were widely traded. These beads were made by shaping glass canes into patterns like flowers or stripes, then cutting and molding them onto solid-colored cores. Kiffa beads from Mauritania, made by women using powdered glass, were created to look like millefiori beads.

The success of trade beads as currency was due to their limited local production and ease of trading across regions. European methods for making beads allowed exploitation of the West African monetary system. Glassmaking was rare in Africa, where beads were used for currency, wealth storage, and social status. The quality, quantity, and style of jewelry showed a person’s rank, creating high demand for trade beads in Africa.