Turquoise Jewelry Facts and information about the History of Clothing and regalia of Native American Indians and their Turquoise Jewelry. The Native Americans of the Southwest including the Navaho, Zuni, Pueblo, Hopi and Apache tribes are famous for producing their beautiful silver and turquoise jewelry. Almost all of their turquoise jewelry is made with silver. Turquoise is a semi-precious stone and is found in many U.S. states including Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, California, Virginia, and Utah. The Turquoise stone is considered by the Native American people to offer protection to the body and soul and as a symbol of purity.
Native American Clothing - Turquoise Jewelry The history of traditional or ceremonial dress and regalia worn by Native American Indians is a fascinating subject. The following fact sheet contains interesting facts and information on Turquoise Jewelry.
Turquoise Jewelry Fact Sheet for kids
Turquoise Jewelry Fact 1: Native Americans produce silver and turquoise jewelry, including rings, bracelets, earrings, pendants, necklaces and pins
Turquoise Jewelry Fact 2: The Navajo tribe were the first to use turquoise, which was indigenous to the area they lived in and was quickly mined out.
Turquoise Jewelry Fact 3: Turquoise deposits are often visible on the ground and Native Americans found turquoise and then began to mine for it
Turquoise Jewelry Fact 4: The Pueblo, Apache, Zuni, Pima and Hopi tribes soon adopted the skills to produce beautiful ornaments
Turquoise Jewelry Fact 5: To make beads the colorful stones were pounded on hard rocks to create a round bead for a ritual purposes or self adornment. After being exposed to light and air, it tends to lose some of its striking blue hue
Turquoise Jewelry Fact 6: It is referred to amongst many Native Americans as the "Sky Stone" due to its beautiful sky-blue color and the beliefs and mythology surrounding the stone. Some Native Americans considered the blue hue to symbolize the sky, while the green hue symbolized the earth
Turquoise Jewelry Fact 7: The stone was considered a sacred gift by the people offering protection to both the body and soul and as a symbol of purity
Turquoise Jewelry Fact 8: A famous myth surrounding the stone tells that Native Americans cried tears of joy when the rains came and seeped into Mother Earth to become "Sky Stone"
Turquoise Jewelry Fact 9: It was considered to be the most important stone used by medicine men or Shamans and capable of causing rain and protecting from sickness. It was used as talismans and amulets during sacred rituals for its magical and healing properties
Turquoise Jewelry Fact Sheet for kids
Turquoise Jewelry Fact 10: An Apache myth said that turquoise would be found at the end of a rainbow which had the power to make a warrior invincible
Turquoise Jewelry Fact 11: According to Navajo mythology, the Changing Woman was born on a mountain top as a small turquoise image after Mother Earth and Father Sky had joined together
Turquoise Jewelry Fact 12: The Navajo became adept in molding the beads, and making Heishi and squash blossom necklaces. Heishi necklaces were smooth necklaces with stitched beads. A horseshoe-shaped symbol called a “Naja” appeared often in traditional Navajo jewelry representing good fortune
Jewelry Fact 13: The Zuni tribe carved talismans and amulets out of turquoise and decorated figurines of idols with the stone
Jewelry Fact 14: Dreamcatchers are also often decorated with a piece of turquoise symbolizing the spider sitting on its web
Jewelry Fact 15: Thousands of pieces of Turquoise Jewelry and art were found in the Ancestral Pueblo sites at Chaco Canyon and some, found in southern Arizona, date back to 200 BC
Jewelry Fact 16: One of the oldest turquoise mines is the Cerrillos mine near Santa Fe in New Mexico
Jewelry Fact 17: Turquoise is an opaque, blue, greenish, dark-blue hydrated copper aluminium phosphate mineral with the chemical formula CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8•5H2O. It is considered a semiprecious stone.
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