Neolithic

The Northern Sahara desert.

The Sahara wasn't always a desert.  The most recent wet phase is occasionally called the " Saharan Aqualithic Period". The Sahara was parkland with a Mediterranean vegetation.
During this period, the Sahara had huge lake, it had thousands of smaller lakes, rivers and streams.
The Neolithic people of the Sahara were originally hunter-gatherers.  Eventually,some began to domesticate animals such as sheep, goats,  pigs, and cattle. However, they remained avid hunters as well. Later, farming began in some regions, as evidenced by hundreds of grindstones, stone farming tools, and the remains of grain.
Yet, along with these tools and arrowheads beads  are still found.   Their love of hunting never abated.

Ethiopian ‘ telsum’

As with many Ethiopian pieces of Ethnic Jewelry, these small "telsum" pendants were worn as protective amulets. Specifically, the triangular shaped pendants were worn to guard against the evil eye and the crescent shaped pendants were worn to guard against the crescent moon.

Yemeni Silver

Yemeni silversmiths were Jewish, and their work influenced jewellery in much of the Arab and North African regions. The exquisite skill of these silversmiths can be seen in hollow silver globe beads like the ones on this necklace. By metal-blending and then working the thin sheets by hand, the silversmiths achieved an almost perfect uniformity of texture, color and appearance in their beads. Their globe beads come in several designs, the most common of which are the raised "barley" motif and the "star-shot" applied motif. Many of the beads also have a "hallmark piece" which identifies the maker.

Antique silver globe beads are becoming more and more difficult to find, and are gradually being replaced by contemporary reproductions.

The "silver" in Yemeni beads is a composite of melted silver and other metals. Silver content is measured against the Maria Theresa thaler, a silver coin minted during the reign of Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia in the 18th century. This coin, at 75-85% silver, is considered the highest standard for silver content. The silver high for Yemeni beads is typically 45-50%, and most beads are much lower.