Bead-making is possibly the widest-spread technology in the galaxy. It requires only the barest minimum of knowledge, and since most intelligent life-forms tend not to develop very sophisticated civilizations on their own, it is one technology that is accessible to nearly every intelligent species. They are made by species as diverse as the Vangalri, who lack the sense of sight, but use beads as part of their writing system, and Thanians, who make them underwater out of shells.
Bead-making was declared a “Galactic Heritage Technology” by the Planetary League in G.S.C. 435. All the major factions and nations have their own currencies, but the bead trade is the closest thing that exists to a universal currency. Even though the trade value of beads declines rapidly as technology improves, they remain at least somewhat relevant as a decorative item even on the most technically sophisticated worlds.
