WHAT IS A BEAD?
Among students of beads, there have lately been some discussions concerning the definition of ‘bead’ (the noun) in the context of human adornment and status.  In light of ongoing efforts to classify beads, it would seem important at this moment to define, in more discrete and less ambiguous terms, this object of our efforts.  The colloquial definition of ‘bead’ is commonly given as “anything with a hole that can be strung”.  This definition, however ‘true’ it may be, does little to account for the human origin of beads and the ‘spirit’ in which beads are made and used.  Humans create beads for human purposes, while human purposes give rise to beads.   For the social physicists in the audience, this latter would be a restatement of the “Principle of Least Effort”. Natural Beads.  The first category of ‘bead’ includes holed objects formed by Nature.  These natural objects require nothing more than string to become beads.  These objects are not beads until somebody puts a string through the hole.   Before the string, while the object is lying in Nature, it is performing natural functions, not human bead functions.  Its bead ‘spirit’ is achieved only when someone picks it up and runs a string through it.  Nature provides the ‘body’; humans provide the ‘spirit’. True Beads.  The second category of ‘bead’ arises when someone forms a bead from raw materials.  Bead creation involves the conscious mechanical transformation of materials for bead purposes.  Shells are drilled (a hole is made) or molten glass is wound on a rod (another hole is made).  These efforts usually result in beads symmetrical to the perforation, but asymmetrical beads may also be created.  Raw materials are given bead ‘body’ and ‘spirit’ and, with a string through the hole, true beads are created.  Human purposes are sometimes expressed in beads and, therefore, these purposes give rise to beads.  Humans supply the ‘body’ and ‘spirit’ of true beads.   Introduced Manmade Beads.  The third category of ‘bead’ includes nonbead objects made for nonbead purposes.   Appropriate small holed objects are sometimes adapted to bead functions.  Such beads retain their original nonbead bodies, but are imbued with bead ‘spirit’.  While these objects perform bead functions and purposes with the application of string, they are just as easily repatriated to their nonbead functions.  For a time, such an object has bead ‘spirit’ applied to it by humans, but not bead ‘body’.  In this category are beadlike objects, such as buttons. Dysfunctional Beads.  The fourth category of ‘bead’, one that emerges from the third, is the dysfunctional bead.  A bead of any category becomes dysfunctional when it loses its ‘body’ or ‘spirit’.  A Natural or True Bead so broken as to have lost its perforation may be considered dysfunctional.  An introduced manmade bead also becomes dysfunctional when it is returned to its original role or dismounted from its string.  A bead used for purposes other than those intended by the makers of beads or for purposes not dictated by normal cultural standards, may also be considered dysfunctional.  The best example of this latter might be beads used as bullets.  Beads become dysfunctional by losing either their ‘body’ or   ‘spirit’. Thus, there are four categories of beads:  Natural, True, Introduced, and Dysfunctional.  Questions may arise concerning the placement of these bead types in the broader Taxonomy of the Ornament Kingdom.  Natural Beads and True Beads, having both bead ‘body’ and bead ‘spirit’ are placed in Class I—True Ornaments.  Introduced Manmade Beads, temporary holders of bead ‘spirit’, are placed in Class II—Introduced Ornaments.  Dysfunctional Beads, if they are former Natural or True Beads and are used as Ornaments, are placed in Class I, Subclass ‘dysfunctional bead’.  Dysfunctional Introduced Manmade Beads, if still used as Ornaments, are placed in Class II. Questions may arise over the placement of Natural Beads in Class I, as opposed to Class III—Introduced Natural Ornaments.  In response, it is noted that the Natural Bead is the result of human action (stringing) and is not a bead until such human intervention occurs.  Nature creates the ‘body’; humans apply the ‘spirit’ to the ‘body’ to create the bead.  At the Ornament level, Natural Beads are the same as True Beads.  On the other hand, a flower plucked from the garden and placed in the hair remains a flower and belongs in Class III.    It has been noted that Introduced Manmade Beads are objects that were not originally made for bead purposes.  It is implied that these objects are adapted to bead purposes without modification.  Such ‘beads’ would be pop-tops on a string used as a necklace.  However, the pop-tops can also be raw material for beads and can be modified or transformed in a variety of ways.  In general, Introduced Manmade Beads must be unmodified objects.  Otherwise, if these objects are transformed into beads through processing, they cease to exist as nonbeads and become True Beads. The difference between pendants and beads should be obvious.  Beads have holes that penetrate their bodies.  Pendants have bails attached to their bodies.  The notion of pendant-shaped beads is as fanciful as the notion of bead-shaped pendants.  Neither ‘pendant’ nor ‘bead’ is a shape. Perhaps the first nonessential human product, beads have always been made for adornment, status indicators, or religious purposes.  However, beads soon assumed monetary and other functions.  From time to time, these nonbead functions gave rise to beads.  In some places, beads became money and qualify as such because the units are small, regular, and difficult to counterfeit.  Beads create uses, but uses give rise to beads. Beads are small holed objects made by humans for bead purposes.  Beads must have both ‘body’ and ‘spirit’.  It is the perforation and the relationship between the bead and the string that separate beads from all other objects. Revised:  3 November 2000