Abstract
Human beings have been fascinated by brightly colored minerals since prehistoric times. The earliest gemstones probably were found as small, polished pebbles lying in rivers and streams or in deposits of heavily weathered aggregates (Arem 1977). Initially, these objects may have been carried by hand or in small containers as highly prized personal possessions. Some were tied together or pierced for use as beads, and eventually adhesives were developed in order to secure the stones to metal settings.
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© 2002 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Rapp, G.R. (2002). Gemstones, Seal Stones, and Ceremonial Stones. In: Archaeomineralogy. Natural Science in Archaeology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05005-7_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05005-7_5
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-662-05007-1
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