Join us as we explore the ways data have been visualized throughout history, from ancient times to the modern era.
Today, we look at Indigenous beadwork, which was (and still is) used as a way to embed information and meaning into everyday objects. Beadwork is present in many cultures around the world, but the various Indigenous Peoples of North America have been creating beadwork for over 8,000 years (having its start around 6,500 BCE, as far as we know).
Beadwork was often used as a means of recording and transferring cultural knowledge and other kinds of qualitative data. While modern beads are usually made out of colourful glass or plastic, originally they were made of shell, bone, or stone.
Identity codes. #
Ojibwe artist and researcher Malinda Gray notes that beadwork designs often contain both personal and spiritual value for the artist or the wearer. A person’s identity can be signified by many elements of the beadwork, including design motifs, the patterns in the beadwork, and the colours or shapes of the beads used.
The encoding of qualitative data about a person into their clothing is a fairly common practice in cultures with a strong tradition of beadwork or embroidery.
Wampum belts. #
A notable example of beadwork is the wampum belt, which dates back to at least 1500 CE (and is thus relatively modern). Wampum belts were made out of white and purple shell beads (wampum), and are particularly associated with the Haudenosaunee (or Iroquois).
Maker: Unknown. Date: 1721-1781. Credit: McCord Stewart Museum, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Image source.
Wampum belts often served as recording devices which encoded history and traditions, or were used to symbolize agreements and treaties between different nations. The shells themselves were frequently traded as currency or used as a symbol of office. Both belts and strings of wampum were often exchanged at diplomatic meetings.