People have been wearing jewelry for over 25,000 years.  Historians would tell us mankind collected jewelry to compensate for three basic insecurities: vanity, superstition and the desire for wealth.  I am not quite so cynical.  I believe we collect and wear jewelry for a far baser emotion.  Have you ever walked on a beach and picked up an object of interest?  I have, and I have often been pleased with the result.  You see I believe we collect that which appears to be of interest to us.   Perhaps we find it beautiful or maybe its just the novelty of the item.  Often we keep these objects and save them as part of our treasure.     That would imply the first jewelry would have been objects of interest found in our natural environment.  The excavation of early funeral sites seems to support this opinion.  Early people collected shells, bone fragments, feathers and teeth.   These objects were strung on a cord and worn as jewelry.  As homo sapiens learned to create tools and work metals our jewelry collections became more sophisticated.  The jewelry wearer was born!