This 23,000 Year-Old Bead is the World’s Oldest Known Jewelery

For those of us who study history and unearthing the mysteries of past civilizations, this 23,000 year-old bead discovered last week in Japan is one of those captivating discoveries that takes us back in time. The bead was discovered on the coast of Okinawa in the Sakitari Cave site and is believed to have been carved from a tusk shell and painted with a red pigment sometime in the Upper Paleolithic Period. The bead is currently on view to the public as part of an exhibition devoted to interchanges between humans in Okinawa this month.