Turquoise and the Zuñi Indian

Hill, Gertrude

doi:10.1080/00231940.1947.11757486

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Many have recognized, for example, that turquoise, along with other blue-green stones such as jade, is a highly valued and powerful substance from the Pueblo region to Mesoamerica (16,(53)(54)(55)(56). Some Pueblo oral traditions, including origin stories, emphasize the association of deities with turquoise, and the material is frequently associated in rituals and oral traditions with sun, fertility, and maleness.…”

Section: Macrocosmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hierarchy and social inequality in the American Southwest, A.D. 800–1200

Plog

Heitman²

2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico has been the focus of much recent archaeological research on Pueblo groups who lived during the 9th through 12th centuries in the American Southwest. Here, we examine variation in mortuary patterns in the canyon, focusing in particular on one mortuary crypt, to address questions of social differentiation and the chronology of important sociopolitical processes. Based on new radiocarbon dates as well as reanalysis of the stratigraphy and spatial distribution of materials in the mortuary crypt, we conclude that significant social differentiation began in Chaco ca. 150-200 y earlier than suggested by previous research. We argue that social inequality was sanctified and legitimized by linking people to founders, ancestors, and cosmological forces.Chaco Canyon | archaeology | culture change | mortuary practice | cosmology

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Section: Macrocosmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hierarchy and social inequality in the American Southwest, A.D. 800–1200

Plog

Heitman²

2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…For the Zuni, the traditional use of turquoise in everyday and ceremonial contexts extends deep into antiquity. Turquoise continues to be used as an important offering, deposited in shrines and decorating objects like fetishes and adornments (Bunzel, 1932;Hill, 1947;Parsons, 1939;Stevenson, 1904). Zuni traditional history identifies the Cerrillos Hills as an ancient source of turquoise (Ferguson and Hart, 1985).…”

Section: Case Study: Isotopic Investigation Of Turquoise Artifacts Frmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isotopic evidence for the provenance of turquoise in the southwestern United States

Thibodeau

Killick

Hedquist

et al. 2015

Geological Society of America Bulletin

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The archaeological record shows that turquoise was widely mined and highly valued by pre-Hispanic societies in the southwestern United States, and it has long been assumed that much of the turquoise noted in ancient Mesoamerica was traded from this region. However, little is understood about the acquisition and exchange of turquoise by Native American societies because the geological sources of most turquoise artifacts from archaeological sites in the southwestern U.S. and Mexico are not known. We evaluate the potential for Pb and Sr isotopic ratios to indicate the geological provenance of turquoise artifacts recovered from these regions. Pb and Sr isotopic measurements were made on 137 geological samples of turquoise from 19 mining districts across the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. These data reveal that isotopic signatures of turquoise deposits vary geographically according to regional and local differences in the geologic settings of turquoise mineralization. As an archaeological case study, we also report Pb and Sr isotopic data on 10 turquoise artifacts recovered from three late pre-Hispanic (ca. A.D. 1250-1400) ancestral Zuni sites located in the El Morro Valley of western New Mexico. These have isotopic signatures uniquely consistent with the turquoise deposits of the Cerrillos Hills, a location identified in Zuni traditional history as an ancient source of turquoise. These data thus establish Pb and Sr isotopic measurements as powerful tools for determining the sources of turquoise artifacts and provide a new framework for evaluating the role of turquoise in pre-Hispanic exchange networks across North America.

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