Beads has been used so vastly in so many different ways like, counting in abacus, spiritual prayer beads, to signify wealth and status on clothes, jewelry and decorations and much more. Beads has came in many forms and materials like bones, stones, wood, shells, seeds, glass, plastic, metal,... you name it and people are still trying to create new type of beads from any materials they can find in their environment, much like our primitive ancestors.  

Beading was invented since the first humankind picked up a piece of plant vine or hair and string on a stone, shell or seed with a natural hole in the middle, which since then invented ways to punch holes into objects for beading purposes. So for those who started beading like our primitive ancestors and myself just string beads in a straight line without any fancy weave or technique need not feel too abashed. 

Both beads and beading has evolved so much since the beginning, now you see beads in intricate designs like alphabets, flowers, butterfly and much more.  Also the vast number of beading techniques from peyote stitch to loom work. People who took it up, beading becomes a way of life, you breathe beads, feel them, need them and want more of them (no I'm not exaggerating). The joy when beading, you are transcended, much like a spiritual or meditation experience. If this is not happening when you are beading, then you are missing what it is all about.