Mined from earth and animals, carved, cast, chipped and polished, Native American jewelry has a history and a story to tell as rich as the ages. Crafted by Indigenous artists for thousands of years, jewelry has served many purposes. Influenced by the very land itself, spiritual beliefs, legends, and cultures, it has been crafted since the earliest days of the Inca, Aztecs, Maya and Anasazi.
As early as 10,000 B.C. people used antlers, bones, porcupine quills, shells, stones and feathers in their creations. As nations progressed, jewelry became more complex with animal teeth, mined turquoise and silver, smelted copper, semi-precious stones, carved local wood, animal claws, pearls and abalone shells. For nomadic tribes wealth had to be portable, so jewelry became a wearable bank, depicting rank and social class.
The…
