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By Patty Talahongva (Hopi)
All photos courtesy of the artist.
Roanhorse photo: Shelle Neese/Studio Seven Productions; Bird/Johnson.
Photo by Carrie Haley/Courtesy Martha Hopkins Struever.
People have been creating and wearing neck adornment since time
immemorial—probably since they learned to tie a piece of vine around
their throats—stringing together bits of stone, bone, shell, wood,
shaped clay and other objects they found visually interesting,
talismatic or emotionally charged.
In the American Southwest, turquoise was a prized material in this
early jewelry. Long before the Spaniards arrived with silver, Native
people were mining turquoise to make necklaces, as well as earrings and
other jewelry forms. Many tribes believed—and continue to believe—that
turquoise is sacred and provides protection for those wearing it.
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