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Symbols of Southwest Native American Jewelry * Stacey Thornton BA Candidate Emporia State University 12/2012

Symbols of Southwest Native American Jewelryacademic.emporia.edu/abersusa/go340/students/thornton/SThornton... · Symbols of Southwest Native American Jewelry * Stacey ... Bob Powers

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Symbols of Southwest Native American

Jewelry

*

Stacey Thornton

BA Candidate

Emporia State University

12/2012

saber
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Welcome to my final project on two gems treasured by the First Nations people of the American Southwest.

*Photos and presentation by

Stacey Thornton

*

Photo by S. Thornton

*

*Cultural Groups:

*Anasazi

*Mogollon

*Hohokam

Photos by S. Thornton, 11/2012

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In the American Southwest, ancient cultural groups known as the Anasazi, Mogollon and Hohokam, favored turquoise and shell jewelry for over two thousand years (Cirillo 8, 11-12).

*“as emblems of the sky and

water – the home of the sun

and the source of rain –

turquoise and shell are linked

to growth and renewal, the

forces central to so many of

the dances” (Cirillo 8).

Photo by S. Thornton, 11/2012

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Dexter Cirillo, author of Southwestern Indian Jewelry, emphasizes that jewelry was much more than something to adorn oneself with as a way of showing prominence. He notes that gemstones carried special meaning and were very much a part of Pueblo ceremonial dances (Cirillo 8).

*“According to the Navajos, the

Changing Woman was born on

a mountain top as a small

turquoise image after Mother

Earth and Father Sky had come

together” (Powers & Barasch

12).

Photo by S. Thornton, 11/2012

http://www.orderwhitemoon.org/god

dess/ChangingWoman/ChangingWoma

n.html

http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-

Legends/Changing_Woman-

Navajo.html

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As an intrinsic part of Southwest Native American culture it is not surprising that turquoise and shell are central to many stories and legends of First Peoples. Bob Powers and Marc Barasch, authors of Crafting Turquoise Jewelry, explain that in Navajo mythologies the “Turquoise Goddess,” also known as “the Changing Woman was born on a mountain top as a small turquoise image after Mother Earth and Father Sky had come together” (12).

* Igneous

*Sedimentary

*Metamorphic

*Nevada

*New Mexico

*Arizona

*California

*Colorado

*Utah

*

Photo by S. Thornton, 11/2012

Mines detailed at

http://indianvillage.com/

turquoisemines.htm

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Turquoise has been thought of “as a piece of the sky” since ancient times by Native Americans indigenous to the Southwest (Dubin 460). It can be composed of different minerals. When water runoff filters down through other rock material, it mixes with the chemical compositions of the surrounding minerals to create turquoise (Rosnek 45). It can be found in several locations throughout the United States however, the most significant deposits are found in New Mexico and Arizona (Rosnek 45). Turquoise deposits are not very deep and can be part of a host rock that is “igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic” (Rosnek 45).

*

* Color: sky-blue, blue-green,

apple-green and robin’s egg

blue

* Streak: white

* Luster: waxy

*Hardness: 5–6

*Density: 2.31-2.84

* Fracture: Conchoidal

* Crystal System: (Triclinic)

seldom; grape-shaped

aggregates

* Fluorescence: weak; green-

yellow, light blue

* Refractive Index: 1.610-

1.650

* Chemical composition:

CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)84H2O

(Schumann 186)

Photo by S. Thornton, 11/2012

*

*When it is first mined, turquoise can have a

beautiful dark blue color; however, after

reaching air and light, it tends to lose this

striking blue hue (Powers & Barasch 15).

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Powers and Barasch describe turquoise’s color as “an ethereal indigo” when it is first exposed in the mine (15). This fading effect may have been the reason ancient people have called turquoise “Changing Woman” in their myths (Powers and Barasch 12).

*Easily Breakable

*Care should be taken

when the stone is

placed in its setting. (Rosnek 47)

*Perspiration

*Oils

*Cosmetics

*Household Detergents (Schumann 186)

*

Photo by S. Thornton, 11/2012

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Sticky Note
Walter Schumann, author of Gemstones of the World, notes that temperature can have an effect on the color of turquoise by altering it to “a dull green” (186). He also points out that turquoise’s color can be altered by “light, perspiration, oils, cosmetics, and household detergents” and recommends that “turquoise rings…be removed before hands are washed” (Schumann 186). Because the stone’s color can change, it can be hard to keep all of them looking the same in one piece of jewelry (Rosnek 46). Turquoise can also easily break so, care must be taken when the stone is placed in its setting (Rosnek 47).

*Magnesite and Howlite

(earrings) are often dyed to

resemble turquoise. Plastic is

another common imitation

(left drilled bead).

More on turquoise imitations and enhancements at

http://www.bostonbeadcompany.com/

beadopedia/beads/turquoise.htm

Photos by S. Thornton

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In this photo the white piece is magnesite. The drilled bead is plastic and the blue chunks are dyed magnesite or resin; earrings are dyed howlite.

*

*While turquoise was

readily available to

early inhabitants of

the area, shell had to

be traded via an

extensive inter-tribal

network that linked

cultural groups to

other regions and

resources. Photo by S. Thornton, 11/2012

http://phoenix.gov/recreation/arts/

museums/pueblo/about/visitorinfo/m

aterials/dfgoods.html

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Lois Sherr Dubin, author of North American Indian Jewelry and Adornment From Prehistory to the Present, points out that: Between A.D. 900 and 1100, an elaborate shell-trade network developed among the Hohokam of southern Arizona and the Mimbres of southern New Mexico. More than twenty genera of shell, including Haliotis (abalone), Glycymeris, Olivella, and Conus were made into jewelry. (467)

*

Abalone was made into pendants in prehistoric times. https://mbabramgalleries.com/native_american_prehistoric_abalone_pendants.html

Photo by S. Thornton, 11/2012

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Dubin observes that “coming from water, shell is a symbol of life,” especially for people who lived in the desert Southwest (Dubin 460). Prehistoric Pueblo Indians made pendants out of abalone-shell which was likely traded from coastal Californian tribes (Dubin 459).

Bracelets were made from

Glycymeris shells by cutting a

hole in the center large enough

to allow the hand to go

through (Dubin 467). Cirillo

finds that “the hub of the shell

also served as a base for

mosaic designs” and this design

was often turquoise inlay (22).

With a hardness of 2½-4½, a

cactus spear could be used to

bore a hole through shell in

order to string beads for

necklaces (Schumann 256,

Cirillo 22).

For more visit:

http://acstempe.com/home/postcard-glycymeris-gigantea-bracelet/

http://nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/infinityofnations/southwest/231968.html

Image taken from Infinity of Nations –

Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian

http://nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/infinityofnations/

southwest/231968.html

saber
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Bracelets were made from Glycymeris shells by cutting a hole in the center large enough to allow the hand to go through (Dubin 467). Cirillo finds that “the hub of the shell also served as a base for mosaic designs” and this design was often turquoise inlay (22). With a hardness of 2½-4½, a cactus spear could be used to bore a hole through shell in order to string beads for necklaces (Schumann 256, Cirillo 22).

*

Photo by S. Thornton, 11/2012

The natural iridescent

luster of shell, known as

mother-of-pearl, no doubt

attracted First Peoples to

its beauty.

Black Mother-of-Pearl Cabochons

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Schumann defines mother-of pearl as “the inner nacreous layer of a mollusk shell…which has an iridescent play of color” (265). Nacre is a natural form of defense secreted by the mollusk to form its shelter and protect it from harmful organisms and bits of external material that get caught in its shell (“Mother”). This secretion forms in layers constructing the animal’s shell and forming over debris to create pearls (“Mother”).

* Color: white, pink, silver, cream, golden, green, blue or black

* Translucent to opaque

* Crystal system: Microcrystalline

*Hardness: 2 ½-4 ½

* Refractive Index:

1.52-1.66

* Fracture: uneven

* Specific Gravity: 2.60-2.85

* Chemical Composition: Calcium carbonate, organic substances & water

(Schumann 256)

Photo by S. Thornton, 11/2012

*

*Turquoise and shell’s

softness of color and

texture reflect the gentle

spirit which Hopi Indians

saw in them (Powers 12).

Photo by S. Thornton, 11/2012

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Sticky Note
It is easy to agree with Cirillo when he contends that “turquoise and shell are the core of Southwestern Indian jewelry” (19). Their softness of color and texture reflect the gentle spirit which Hopi Indians saw in them (Powers and Barasch 12). What is remarkable is that designs of shell and turquoise from two thousand years ago are still popular today (Cirillo 25-27).

*

*Cirillo, Dexter. Southwestern Indian Jewelry.

New York: Abbeville Press, 1992. Print.

*Dubin, Lois Sherr. North American Indian

Jewelry and Adornment From Prehistory to the

Present. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.,

1999. Print

*Schumann, Walter. Gemstones of the World.

New York: Sterling, 2002. Print.

Photo by S. Thornton

*

*“Mother Of Pearl Defined.” Pearl-Guide.com. 2011. Web. 14 Sept. 2012. “www.pearl-guide.com/mother-of-pearl.shtml.”

*Powers, Bob, and Marc Barasch. Crafting Turquoise Jewelry: The Basics of Style and Technique. Harrisburg: Stackpole Books, 1978. Print.

*Rosnek, Carl, and Joseph Stacey. Skystone and Silver: The Collector’s Book of Southwest Indian Jewelry. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1976. Print.

Fossil Ammonite with Mother of Pearl,

Blue Hills, Kansas; Photo by S. Aber