ULTIMATELY, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER ONE WERE AWARE OF PREHISTORIC SOUTHWESTERNERS’ VALUE SYSTEMS OR RELIGIOUS PRACTICES, THEIR ADORNMENTS WILL NEED TO PASS THAT TEST OF TIME TO WHICH ALL JEWELRY IS SUBJECT.

SET IN STONE

Prehistoric Southwest Ornaments

Robert K. Liu

ot often am I so impressed by an exhibition that I become concerned with showing as much of it as possible. Running through February 2010 at the Arizona State Museum, on the campus of the University of Arizona, in Tucson, Set in Stone Nwas just such an occasion. [This has also been the case with the recent expansion of the Greek and Roman galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Liu 2008).] Subtitled 2000 Years of Gem and Mineral Trade in the Southwest, the show is actually two integrated exhibitions, one on the prehistoric Southwest, the other on historic and contemporary Southwest jewelry. The exhibition was curated respectively by Museum staff members Arthur Vokes and Diane Dittemore, with guest co-curator Su Benaron. Given the amount of research on the prehistoric Southwest, there is surprisingly little published color imagery of such jewelry, thus making a printed record useful. In a large hall, some eight hundred objects (not counting individual beads in each batch or strand), audio-visual displays, extensive explanatory labels and maps are presented to the viewer. Set in Stone provides a deeply satisfying historical background to the gem, mineral and ornament marketplace that takes place each year in Tucson with its large audience, as well as the general public. The installation, in part, is designed to provide a context and perspective for both 9 0

0 those who sell at and visit the Tucson gem and mineral shows, among the largest in the world. One hopes this exhibit will lead to 2 . 2 .

3 a permanent record, whether published in print or on the web. 3 T N E M A COPPER AND SPONDYLUS TRADE DISPLAY, showing two of the important trade items in the Southwest, Spondylus shells and copper bells. The N R

O latter reached the Southwest from western Mexico around A.D. 1000, while spiny oyster shells appeared in western Mexico about 1,600 years 4

3 ago, possibly reaching the Southwest via the Sonora. Photographs by Robert K. Liu/Ornament. Courtesy of the Arizona State Museum. crafting oftheirmosaicelements. tessera ontwo ofthesependantsandthegood argilite type withstylizedrear legs;notethecentral ofthe HOHOKAM SHELLMOSAICFROGPENDANT, S of thelocation ancient Southwest trade, themapof cases, thesefive Each of theexhibit. of applies to portions both anumber inantiquity, used Southwest turquoise mines, mapof The gathered together atonefor time anexhibition. themost perhaps some four hundred items, cataloged totalling the prehistoric exhibit, compriserest the the wall of andtwo on panels Five plinthscovered by plex, to theright. historic andcontemporary ancient to ornaments theleft, with ou hnoeetr h xiiin there isalarge flatcase, When one enters theexhibition, th elsi osyie otaas usually with realistic to stylized portrayals, vra uqos ednssonaoe(i 06.Thepredominance materialiswell ofshellasajewelry demonstrated inthiscase. overlay turquoise pendantsshown above (Liu 2006). sloped por onthe Bothmethodsare shown here, eitheretchingaloneorcombinedwithpainting. fewthus very exampleshave beenfound, 1000to1015, Usedonlyfrom circa from A.D. the fruit of saguaro cactus. possibly wine made (Giant Cockle) withaweak acidsolution, SHELL w est t N THN IPA,focusing here onAND ETCHINGDISPLAY, the Hohokam for frog effigies use andtheirrareshells etching of technique of shells ur tion tothetopr q uo ise minesandt ight. h lpn ato h oe ih ipasaotadznfo edns showing thecontinuum from ofthelower adozenfrog displaysabout pendants, The slopingpart right r cn rgn fancient of origins acing Glycymeris G H s s ometimes marked by pitchadhesive remnants. howing patchesofmissingturquoise tesserae, HKMSELMSI RGPNAT on OHOKAM SHELLMOSAICFROGPENDANT, lycymeris hls alsousedfor theircharacteristic bracelets andthemuch rarer mosaic shells, , rmvcnt fGl ed Arizona, from vicinityofGilaBend, this r C of several hundred kilometers to thePacific coast or theGulf t long-distance Southwestthe early of that itwastheobject dataandartifacts. animpressive amountof show, the turquoise thethemes for set of theprehistoric portion oo adrtal motn,inMeso- andSouth America), color important, (andritually for its themostvalued, wasperhaps Thorny orthe oyster, r alifornia (Liu 2006). Shell ornaments have ornaments Shell found been in (Liualifornia 2006). a d As in other areas of the world, shell was also so prized in wasalsosoprized shell theworld, As inother areas of e e g in thew io n as long as thirty-five hundredas long asthirty-five years ago. est e r n ntdSae,involving of journeys United States, r p P P cce uqos ed,on ecycled turquoise beads, ENDANT, with very thick anduneven withvery ENDANT, ROBABLE SALADOSHELLMOSAIC itch layer, crude tesserae crude anduseof layer, itch S p G ond lycymeris. y lus,

35 ORNAMENT 33.2.2009 36 ORNAMENT 33.2.2009 ar SHELL BIRDPEND Sahar theperforationwhere haswornthrough; it resembles contemporary lookslike someNeolithic fetishes but also e fe vradwt uqos oac,atog hsoewsnt TLZD RESOEQARPDPENDANT, QUADRUPED GREENSTONE STYLIZED, A although thisonewas not. often overlaid withturquoise mosaics, ncrig,withthestrength ofwell-realized simplification. an carvings, N rmsm iea bv mg,psil eitn atr Bird andfrog form shellpendants depictingaraptor. possibly image, above as site same from ANT example oflongdistance an from theCalifornia coast, shell wasabalone avalued marine The required toextract andwork it. additionally valued for thelabor in Mesoamer especially throughout the Americas, importancesymbolic andritual itpossessed Southwest origin, wasof Whileturquoise bracelet. withturquoise tab ORIGINAL CORD, ON ABALONETURQUOISE AND TABS INT ACT BASKETMAKER NECKLACE OF ica. P s s o M c e a o some signs ofbeingburnt; all large andshowing OF HUMANS AND LIZARDS, FIGURAL SHELLPENDANTS ossibly itwas triations indicatehowtriations the hell was used. lements from prehistoric f rientation oftheshell rientation atlMcocn in oastal Michoacán, nd stonenecklace xc.Tevertical The exico. theseshell resemble trade. A rvddfn olfrteesrn oos butnone are garish. provided fine foil for thesestrong colors, ofothershellornaments Thewhite was which probablystronger before theeffects and agingdulledtheircolors. ofburial spondylus, aswell asthevividnessof andthegreen Thered ofthose ofgreenstone oftheargilite are obvious, ornaments of thecase. finely made intheapex argilite beadsandsomewell-carvedgreenstone ornaments Intheforeground isastrand ofsmall, viewing. RICH has antestsite. Arizona equipmentfirmmodels; thislarge construction shown inanearby diorama withCatepillar aptly huge miningshovels anddumptrucks, involving practices, mining withcontemporary Thecuratorscontrasted thisancient inlay. orintotesserae for overlay or beads andtabs, required tofashion theraw turquoise into l r a w a v a i b E tc atn.Intheforeground are copperor ntact hafting. aborious task. Added to this labor was Addedtothislabor that task. aborious tivdfo h ers nal ahard and etrieved frominall, thedebris; isi h isrsadvis Fires were built inthefissures andvoids. eins ARLY MINING TECHNOLOGY isdemonstrated y anttehr okfc,thendousedwith gainst thehard rock face, luminum-rich rockluminum-rich matriceswithturquoise part sopiecesofturquoise couldbe part trt rcuei.Maulsandpicks broke this ater tofracture it. ARRA tn al n amr,oneshown with stone mauls andhammers, Y OF ST ONE AND BONEORNAMENTS , as w l sjto int.Eachoftheslopingplinths segregate for thematerials ell asjetorlignite.

37 ORNAMENT 33.2.2009 38 ORNAMENT 33.2.2009 (shell, trade goodsshown Oftheprimary coastal andinlandareas. joining showing theirnumberandcomplexity, SOUTHWEST, MAP OFPRECONTACT TRADE ROUTESIN THE GREATER Southwest toMesoamerica. gr and eat importance, especially the latter as an export from the especiallythelatterasanexport eat importance, uqos r h otnmru,demonstrating their turquoise are themost numerous, tur quoise, copper bells aasadbfaohds,shell macaws andbuffalo hides), , o overlay mosaic these have pendants regarded been asinsignias With relatively fewexamples, extant andintact turquoise. some overlaid with numerous frog oreffigies, pendants of qualities alsomadeThese thisbivalve suitable for thecarving no d je pieces.small but in whole, itwasusuallynotused but due to here, scarcity A abilities. crafting match theMeso- andSouth routes, spondylusAmerican trade in theSouthwest to Mesoamerica ( piecesmillion Southwestern inall andMesoamerican sites T on theturquoise 167) to Mesoamerica. trade Fig. 186, (2001: thatin the mapon thispage with Weigand and Weigand better which canbe appreciated by comparing thistrade, of thesize anindicationof giving turquoise, piecesmillion of M which controlled theturquoise to trade New Mexico, thir ar an inNew 900was Los Cerrillos Mexico, Southwest after A.D. turquoise intheprehistoric largest The supplier of 2001). thisgemstone (Weigand and Weigand outcroppingsfifty of there are almost actually and southwestern United States, Mexico In northern andDurango. Sonora, California, Baja r e setvl) two inNew Mexico andone each inColorado, espectively), Weigand thedistances Although covered and Weigand 2001). xamples o r f he amountfound atChaco theone to two contrasts with w r chaeological pitmineaboutthree hundredchaeological across feet and ea eso izona have themostturquoise andseven mines(eight p elry material, used for bracelets and shell overlay for used braceletsandshell pendants, material, elry From the map on display, one sees thatNevadasees one and From themapon display, t c oub o y hing to at ame w etde.At Chaco Canyon pueblosinnorthwestern deep. feet er but should also rank highly asquintessentialer highly but shouldalsorank t d r ue t f ica, st Glycymeris r o least C o hr aebe on netmtdhl a there have found been anestimated half the st ng p rehistoric Southwestern and aesthetic hic rieso itsthick valves andumbra. urdiness of A the bottomofprevious page. smaller thanonesshown on civilizations, beads found intheMiddleEastorIndus match theexceedinglytiny stonedisk Somered argilite beads fellwhich out. ends mighthaveofturquoise, hadinserts noseplugswithopen Some ofthecurved N s j J c P wlyada rd omdt,itis andasatradeewelry commodity, imilar topipestoneusedelsewhere in erome, Arizona. A prized materialfor Aprized Arizona. erome, hén I US N ED,ofthisattractive red ANDBEADS, LUGS, asoe found nearPrescott and laystone, orth America, in quarries ofMinnesota. inquarries orth America, GLT RCLT EDNS NOSE PENDANTS, BRACELET, RGILITE was much more prominent asa z nteYctn itdoes not tzá inthe Yucatan, turquoise are trade vast, o provided copies Lizarraga Darlene discussions andreferenceas thoughtful images. amn .M. J. Bayman, REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY I ACKNOWLEDGMENTS excellent still jewelers. andtheir descendants, peoples, early these sensibilities of and for skills the admiration without leave Few will thisexhibition fire. without andjewelry craft expressed by Jernigan’s (1978)chapters on prehistoric jewelry sowell- whereby material isground or drilled, subtraction, b which ab materials for Southwestern craftspeople, who worked who without formaterials Southwesterncraftspeople, me inhab thesepast adornments of The issubject. to jewelry which all time to need pass thattest of their adornments will practices, value systemsorreligious prehistoric Southwesterners’ making andc in the andmacaws bells Both mostlikely importance had feathers. similarto macaws andtheir goods, were trade high-status they such items wassmall, Even thevolume though of bells. copper particularly copper or itsalloy artifacts, of casting t int exchange This for spondylus additional stocks (Liu 2005a). waters may have them lead to upto raft west Mexico to trade insufficient thorny oyster intheir own in South America, e h xlntr aes which were helpful inproviding context andoverview. labels, theexplanatory f thank e c ou ne hniq t r Ultimately, regardless of whether onewere whether aware of regardlessof Ultimately, While Ecuador supplied thelarge demand for spondylus o this g t fit o tnso the SouthwestAmerican have obviously easily itants of rble ytm,byn h biu trcino noise- of beyond attraction theobvious systems, ir belief A duced certain textiles, jewelry andmetallurgical jewelry duced textiles, certain thir involved overland both and trails r for either jewelry or carvings by contemporary Southwest byfor artists. contemporary eitherjewelryorcarvings doesnotnow thismaterial seemtobeutilizedintheSouthwest Unfortunately, animals andtheadze/axehead. togive character toboththe utilizedwellbandingofthisstoneintwo thehorizontal ways, carvers Theirprehistoric Mexico. New southwest in only occurring R th ues t CLT X EDADTREQARPD,alpoal frta motne Thisbandedstone is very restricted in distribution, importance. allprobablyofritual ICOLITE AXE HEAD AND THREE QUADRUPEDS, ur f oal. Shells and stone constitute the primary jewelry and stone Shells constitute theprimary oal. ty-eight hundred kilometersty-eight (Liu 2006b). 02Hhkmcateooisadtemtraiaino power. 2002 Hohokam economies craft andthematerialization of V ea.Ms ftheirwere ornaments made by Most of metal. ok o olor. es f ein ieNyrt including thelost-wax likeregions Nayarit, rpoiigatoog retto oteehbto,aswell or providing to athorough orientation theexhibition, ebrerfig of rafting, seaborne 20aAcetsts Montezuma Castle andTuzigoot. —2006a Ancient sites: 20 evrAtMsu.Pre-columbian Study Gallery. —2001 Denver Museum. Art —2008 Jewelry of the classical world. The Met’s The New Greek &Roman Galleries. theclassical world. —2008 Jewelry of Mesa Verde National—2005b Ancient Park. sites: jewelry. historic andcontemporary —2005a Spondylus inprecolumbian, —2002 egn,P .adA .deWeigand G. andA. C. P. Weigand, W. A. Vokes, L. C. Tanner, P Stacey andR. Cartwright C. Middleton, A. C., McEwan, —2004 C Precolumbian materials. jewelry —1999 Identification: — — R.K Liu, L J J Bennyhoff A. andJ. E. R. Hughes, Gessle F F Zamudo-Taylor andV. (eds.) M. V. Fields, Dub B B 20bPeitrcmsi eer fthe Southwest.American —2006b Prehistoric of mosaicjewelry ria,E W E. ernigan, ac ish, tgrl,R . .L oe n .Schroth Jones and A. L. T. T., R. itzgerald, ankt aulse e ns,C .E L. C. enesh, 1995 1989 Precolumbian Jewelry Materials. nhf .A n .E Hughes E. andR. A. J. nnyhof, ka, dacdRsac rs:154p. Advanced Research Press: in, S.K. n .. .Daat n .Kenoyer andM. Diamanti J. J.W., on, Basin Strombus in Andean prehistory. A between California andtheGreat Basin. I the American Southwest andMesoamerica. cultures of theancient ships between to 1200CE. Prehistory Natural History American Museum of A rs:226p. Press: ora fArcheological Method and Theory Journal of uemo r:184-195. Art: Museum of Or 54-59. 60-66. 28(3): T Mythic Homeland. fr 15, California. dates new from AMS radiocarbon Southern western North America: 608p. Publishers: Abrams Inc., N. Harry C Life anddeath along Tonto Tonto Creek Archeological Project. Minturn (eds). r J n, n . , co,Uiest fAioaPes unnumbered. Arizona Press: University of ucson, L.S. A olcil ed.AUniversal Aesthetic Collectible Beads. om Mexico. eia eerhadUiest fNwMxc rs:260p. New Mexico Press: Researchmerican andUniversity of ncestral Southwest.ncestral r D T : e 18 r-ouba ekae,Then andNow. .1983 Pre-columbian Necklaces, A. nament ztlan atLACMA. our Fie . ek. 44-45. n ..Fish (eds) and P.R. . 1988 P and N.S. C. adoko h ot mrcnIdas1:238-25. theNorth IndiansAmerican 11: Handbook of . 1999 lds andZ 01Teselonmn sebae Chapter 4. assemblage. ornament shell 2001 The tl A 1976 y 1974 T nthr . . 1978 A 93Ehbto eiw leSoeadSelJwlyo the Blue Stone Jewelry of andShell 1993 Exhibition Review: 31(3): N ora fArchaeological Science Journal of r to the Ancient Maya. of rt e o Prehistoric Southwestern Craft Arts. or c D p Hammack olumbian Jewelry from Peru. o th J he tho ra,Dk nvriyPes 96p. Duke University Press: urham, amudo-Taylor (eds) ewelry of the Prehistoric Southwest thePrehistoric of ewelry log A 36-39. ical P o nee,LsAglsCut uemo r:424p. Art: Los Angeles Museum County of Los Angeles, me Or O r r ahntnDC,TeBa uem 95p. 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39 ORNAMENT 33.2.2009