South African Cave Yields 'Earliest Jewellery'
From an article on BBC News web site by Jonathan Amos :
The oldest pieces of jewellery made by modern humans have emerged in Africa.
Shell beads found in Blombos Cave on the southern tip of the continent are 75,000 years old, scientists say.
The pea-sized items all have similar holes which would have allowed them to be strung together into a necklace or bracelet, the researchers believe.