How turquoise became synonymous with New Mexico.
绿松石是如何成为新墨西哥州的代名词的 [ˈtɜːkwɔɪz]
In New Mexico, turquoise is seemingly everywhere.
Bright blue paint covers city buses, light posts, and the wooden doors of adobe houses in Albuquerque [ˈælbəkɜːki], the largest city in this so-called “Land of Enchantment. 迷人之地（美国新墨西哥州的别称）” An hour’s drive northeast in the state capital of Santa Fe, Navajo and Zuni craftspeople 手艺人；工匠 sell handmade turquoise jewelry under the awnings (挡雨或遮阳的)天蓬 of the 16th-century Palace of the Governors.
“But for the Indigenous community, turquoise is not just a rock, it’s a sacred being,” “Mining it and working with it take on deeper meanings.”
Turquoise in New Mexico has long danced between culture and commerce, between Indigenous communities wearing and sharing the stone. “For artisans working in—and selling—turquoise, this state is the center of gravity,” “Santa Fe was always a crossroads for traders, and that’s helped make the stone ubiquitous in this region.”
Here’s why one stone ended up being synonymous with a whole state, plus how to explore its role in Indigenous culture and crafts around New Mexico.
Where does turquoise come from?
Turquoise occurs in spots where acidic water comes into contact with copper, forming veins or nuggets of stone. 绿松石出现在酸性水与铜接触的地方，形成矿脉或石块。This solidified hydrated copper aluminum phosphate水合磷酸铜铝 has been found in Russia, China, and Iran as well as across the Southwest United States in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, southern California, and New Mexico.
The resulting turquoise ranges in color from chalky white to uniform, robin’s-egg blue, to spider-webbed blue green (found at New Mexico’s Los Cerrillos mine). The stone is ranked between a 5 and 6 on the Gemstone Institute of America’s (GIA) Mohs hardness scale 摩氏硬度表, meaning turquoise can be easily carved but isn’t as hard as, say, a diamond (a Mohs 10).
For a crash course in how and where the mineral forms, visit Albuquerque’s exhaustive, quirky Turquoise Museum with its walk-through “mine,” hands-on education activities, and heaps of blue rocks.
How is turquoise mined?
As early as the sixth century A.D. 公元六世纪, the Ancient Puebloan people of what’s now the Southwest U.S. mined the mineral, extracting turquoise with simple tools and carving it into beads, pendants, and nose plugs. Since 1896, archaeologists have discovered more than 200,000 pieces of such turquoise at northern New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon, including beads and small sculptures from the mysterious “Room 33,” a tiny, treasure-laden tomb for 12 a dozen people tucked into one of the stone pueblos.
Travelers won’t see that turquoise amid the structures at the UNESCO-designated Chaco Culture National Historical Park; the artifacts are held in collections including the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology in Albuquerque and the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
Deposits of turquoise are found in host rocks [地质] 主岩；母岩；容矿岩throughout the American Southwest.
Researchers have used isotope tracing 同位素示踪 to prove that some of those ancient stones came out of the earth at Los Cerrillos, a tiny, picturesque （地方）古雅的，风景如画的 mining village located about halfway between Albuquerque and Santa Fe on what’s now known as the Turquoise Trail.
Today, much of the turquoise in New Mexico—including the majority of deposits in Los Cerrillos—has been mined out. Some operations closed in the early 20th century when the gems were depleted, others simply converted to more profitable copper mining. 20世纪初，当宝石耗尽时，一些矿场关闭了，其他矿场干脆转向利润更高的铜矿开采。 (The Cerrillos Turquoise Museum showcases vintage photos and mining equipment from the gem-hunting boom days plus a trading post and petting zoo.)
Jewelers and retailers now trade in turquoise that was mined decades ago, and New Mexico-based Indigenous artists are as likely to work in local stone as in rocks from Arizona, Nevada, or Russia. “More turquoise comes out of Mexico and China today than New Mexico,” “The craft was always centered here far more than the mining.”
What turquoise means to Indigenous New Mexico
There are 23 Indigenous tribes in New Mexico. Their artisans 手艺人 have been using turquoise in jewelry and objects for hundreds of years. Applications were myriad: Kewas carved the stone into disc-like heishi beads, Zunis inlaid it into shells.
Adornments and objects were created to wear on feast days, use in ceremonies, or to trade with others. “If you’re Indigenous, turquoise is part of your heritage, it’s predetermined,” “In Navajo ways, it’s for spiritual protection and blessings.”
“People started traveling West, and they’d notice things like Navajos wearing silver and turquoise bracelets or belts,” says Swentzell. “It blossomed into the curio [ˈkjʊəriəʊ] 古董，小件珍奇物品 trade, which helped jewelers be able to carry on their traditions.”
Indigenous art, modern commerce
In the old towns of Santa Fe and Albuquerque and in smaller cities like Gallup and Taos, shops and galleries function a bit like modern trading posts. They’re loaded up with everything from inexpensive turquoise baubles to a $7,000 backgammon set, its round playing pieces cut from turquoise.
Many artisans—and buyers—prefer “natural” turquoise, meaning stones that haven’t been treated to improve their hardness or color. Natural turquoise sales are regulated by law, but buyers should ask for a receipt guaranteeing that. Improved stone isn’t fake, but natural stone is considered more valuable and authentic.
“The natural rock is more connected to mother earth, with no middleman,” “The stone’s softness can affect how I cut it, but even if it breaks, I grind the turquoise up and use it in prayers.”
Travelers hunting for turquoise souvenirs in New Mexico and around the Southwest generally come seeking authenticity, both in materials and makers.
“People come to New Mexico and see how natural things are interwoven 交织 into our culture, and they want a piece of that,” “Buying these bits of the earth for adornment 装饰品might bring them peace and tranquility.”
