Data collectionThis study reports data from 1,516 OES beads from 31 sites across sub-Saharan Africa (Fig. We recorded three metric variables (bead diameter, aperture diameter and thickness) wherever possible. Bead diameter and aperture diameter both result from cultural behaviour, whereas shell thickness instead may reflect a complex relationship between pore density, environmental aridity31 and ostrich sub-species32. OES bead data distributed unevenly through time with more OES beads in the later phases than phase I and phase II, probably due to myriad factors. Furthermore, despite eastern Africa having far fewer numbers of beads than southern Africa, they are consistently present throughout all five phases.

Source: The North Africa Journal December 20, 2021 19:08 UTC