NOTES ON THE BEAD CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM


According to the Taxonomy of the Ornament Kingdom, beads are a subclass of Class I—True Ornaments.  Beads are thus
found in fifty-six discrete Groups, being all of the possible combinations of eight Regions and seven Materials.  It follows
that the primary classification of beads is the identification of both Regions and Materials and that classification by Group
should be easily achieved for almost all beads, especially for recent production where documentation exists.  Material can
be determined for any bead by examination.  Even Specific Material (the subdivisions of Material) can usually be
identified.  The identification of Region can be more challenging and there is a small minority of beads, primarily old beads,
where region might be unknown.  If Region is not known, the bead cannot be classified.  Group names that amount to a
“general” classification of beads should take the following form:



Inclusion of the Specific Material gives rise to Subgroups of Groups.  Both the Region and the Material designations
should be capitalized, while the Specific Material should be lower case, unless it is a proper name.  Hyphenating the two
capitalized components will indicate that the expression refers to a Group.  Regions should always be expressed in their
noun forms, not as adjectives.  Consensus nomenclature for Specific Materials has not fully evolved so far, but it seems
apparent that recognized scientific terminology for materials should take precedence over frequently ambiguous colloquial
terms.  By all means, English is the language of choice.

Identification of Groups and Subgroups amounts to the “general” classification of beads.  Within each Group, there are
Families that specify where within the Regions the beads originate.  The Families, in turn, may include even more specific
information concerning origins, such as bead makers, factories, ethnic groups, etc.  Rather than being viewed as discrete
categories, Region, Family, and Subfamily should be treated as a continuum, depending upon the exactness of information
available.  However, “specific” classification of beads begins with knowledge of origins more detailed than Region.

The second component of “specific” classifications concerns the Techniques used to make the beads.  Techniques, in
turn, may be subdivided into Specific Techniques, to the extent that this information is available.  Technique, as with all
other divisions of the taxonomy other than geographic origins, is observable, given the beads.  The structure of “specific”
classification for beads is as follows:



Families should always be expressed in geographic terms and modern place names should be used for clarity.  Adjectival
forms may also be used.  Names of polities, religions, etc., should not be used for Families, but may be used at the
Subfamily level.  Both Family and Subfamily should be capitalized.  Technique and Specific Technique should be italicized
and lower case.  These conventions will differentiate the “general” classification from the “specific” classification.

Situations may arise, especially among old beads, where only Regions are known.  Thus, the Region becomes the Family
for practical purposes, pending more information.  Users of this classification system are reminded that every division of
this system is measurable or observable, except for geographic origins.  Thus, if a bead’s Family is known, the bead may
be considered “classified”.

One frequently hears the term “type” used in reference beads.  This term is not spatial or geographic and is strictly
descriptive of physical properties.  “Type” refers to Material, Technique, Size and Shape, Color and Decoration, and other
physical properties of beads and, as such, there are myriad bead “types”.  Material and Technique are essential elements of
the classification system, while other physical properties of beads serve as further refinements to beads that are already
classified.  Thus, two beads can be the same exact “type”, but for lack of origins, the two beads cannot be classified.  
“Types” of beads often have colloquial names that are also not classificatory in nature.

In summary, bead classification involves the elaboration of two binomials.  The first binomial is the “general” classification
based upon fifty-six discrete Groups of beads, several of which may, in fact, be empty.  This “general” binomial classifies
beads according to Region and Material.  The second binomial is the “specific” classification, where Region is further
refined to Family and Technique becomes the defining term.  Any bead may be classified, provided its origin is known,
because all other parameters are measurable or observable.  The term “type” gives rise to colloquial names that belong in
footnotes along with many other parameters, both physical and metaphysical.


Region-Material (specific material)
Family (Subfamily)-technique (specific technique)