Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Fake jewellery from the Stone Age looks like the real deal

‘Amber’ beads dating to the Neolithic period, lasting from the fifth to the third millennium BC, are actually mollusc shells coated with resin and natural pigments.
Coated resin beads on a necklace on a black background

Shells were coated with resin to make these imitation amber beads, which were found in a tomb in what is now Portugal. Credit: C. P. Odriozola et al./J. Archaeol. Sci.

Ancient artisans created imitation amber beads to meet demand for the precious resin in regions where it was scarce, archaeologists propose1.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 631, 257 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02139-5

References

  1. Odriozola, C. P. et al. J. Archaeol. Sci. 168, 106011 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links