12th-16th Century Forest Green Serpentine Necklace 4

12th to 16th Century Forest Green Serpentine Beads from Mali and Mauritania Vivid Forest Green Serpentine have been treasured throughout West Africa for more than a thousand years. These ancient hand shaped and drilled stone beads were found in Mauritania and Mali, where they are though to have been imported into Africa across important trade routes for Gold, Copper, and Salt at the height of the Empire of Mali. Their origin was the Indus Valley, which was the location of two major Ancient Cultures; the Harappan and Mohenjo-Daro Civilizations. These Indus Civilizations had grown in size, wealth and importance since 2300 BC, and were very famous for a thriving Carnelian Trade and sophisticated Metallurgy techniques. This area of river valleys was beneath the Himalaya Mountains in what is know Pakistan, small parts of Afghanistan, and Northern India. The fine and rare precious arts produced in these cultures traveled over important Trans-African Trade Routes to the wealthiest of Kingdom