Why Do We Need Jewelry? a Psycho-anthropological Perspective
The use of gold and gems in Jewelry can be traced back Millennia, to ancient cultures such as Egyptian and Mesopotamian. Jewelry has since then been an ever-present part of human civilization. Adorning oneself with jewelry has been consistent across space and time, across religions, cultures, class and gender. Civilizations as disparate as the Aztecs and the Tibetans are both renowned for their appreciation of turquoise, for example.
In modern-day London or New York, a single diamond may be coveted for its rarity or an elasticized ring paved with tens of rhinestones maybe desired because of its onomatopoeic bling. Undeniably humans have a need for jewelry, but what precisely is this need?
If we consult Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs we a pyramid broken down into five ranks, from base to peak: physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, self-actualization.
We could conjecture that the need for jewelry ranks somewhere among social needs and esteem needs. Social needs pertain to the need for one to belong to a group and esteem needs pertain to ones desire for recognition and for status.
Jewelry is clearly a middling need. It is not as essential as physiological well-being – for food, water or sex – but neither is it explicitly a part of something as lateral as self-actualization. Jewelry acts as an agent of personality. We identify with it. Take birthstones, for