Text| Stevens
Editor| Stevens
preface
Turquoise was a very prized material in ancient Mesoamerica, perhaps the most valuable of all sacred and decorative works of art such as masks, jewelry, and clothing of rulers and high priests.
Turquoise is obtained through trade, the best of which come from the American Southwest. The stone is also associated with gods such as the god of fire Xiuhtecuhtli, known as the "King of Turquoise".
Property & Trade
Turquoise (copper aluminum phosphate) is a semi-precious stone that usually has an opaque appearance.
Turquoise found in Central America varies in color from dark greenish blue to light colors such as sky blue and aquamarine (for example, Persian turquoise rarely has green).
The green to blue variation of a stone reflects the different amounts of iron or copper in the stone. Works often include areas of dark veining caused by iron oxide.
Mask of Xiuhtecuhtli (partial)
Turquoise is a relatively soft stone that is easy to cut and carve; It can be polished to produce a waxy sheen.
Unfortunately, the color of turquoise deteriorates over time, which is why some Central American handicrafts made of this material have been preserved to this day in a rather dull hue.
Turquoise is highly prized for its rarity because there is no source of turquoise in most of Central America and must be imported through trade.
Although turquoise dating back to the Preclassic period (2-1 millennium BC) has been discovered, important regional trade in this material really began in the early postclassic period (from 1000 AD).
Chemical analysis of the artifacts suggests that most of the turquoise used in Mesoamerican cultures came from present-day New Mexico, specifically the Cerillos region. There is turquoise in northern Mexico, but it is not as good quality as New Mexico stone.
Mesoamerican commodities such as exotic bird feathers were exchanged.
This is the importance of turquoise for regional trade, and the route from Central America to the southwestern United States has been likened to the Silk Road from China to Europe, the so-called "Turquoise Road".
The first major Mesoamerican culture to make extensive use of turquoise was the Toltec civilization in central Mexico, which flourished between the 10th and 12th centuries, but others such as the Mayans, Tarascans, and Aztecs (aka Mexicans) also held it in high regard.
Although reserved mainly for political, religious and military elites, turquoise was collected in large quantities, as shown by the excavations of Casas Grandes (aka Paquimé) led by Charles Di Peso, who discovered warehouses filled with precious materials.
Similarly, turquoise warehouses found in Altavista in northwestern Mexico, where there are no deposits, indicate a considerable scale of production.
At Alta Vista, there is evidence that the ore is collected and then processed into small finished tiles for distribution elsewhere in Central America.
Turquoise reserved for the social elite is displayed in the tomb of Alta Vista, which is stored in a rich tomb along with other precious materials, clearly indicating that the occupants belonged to the upper echelons of the community.
Mayan sites such as Chichen Itza also indicate that turquoise was imported. The Aztec rulers included raw turquoise in the list of commodities as tribute to conquered tribes within the empire.
Common uses
Artisans who can make works of art using materials such as shells and turquoise are highly regarded in Mesoamerican cultures.
For example, artisans who worked turquoise were housed in a unique part of the royal palace of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, the totocalli or "bird house".
Aztec ceremonial knife
Turquoise was often used as an inlay material for jewelry, such as crowns, necklaces, pendants, anklets, bracelets, belts, chest ornaments, earplugs, and stud earrings (usually worn by nobles on the lower lip).
It can be worn as beads on various parts of the body or as an add-on to more complex jewelry. As a mosaic, turquoise is used to cover almost everything, from the handle to the frame.
As a rule, the backing material of mosaic works is wood, on which tiles (inlays) are glued with pine resin. The natural color variations of turquoise are often skillfully exploited by Mesoamerican artists, who use small mosaic tiles to create effects of light and depth, accentuating the contours of the pieces to which the tiles are applied.
The Aztecs were great collectors of art produced by early Mesoamerican cultures, and they often embellished these ancient pieces by adding turquoise mosaics.
As a precious material, turquoise is used in wish-making products.
For example, a sacred tomb in Maya Chichen Itza has many gold and turquoise discs thrown into it during religious ceremonies.
Precious objects such as those made of turquoise have also been unearthed from the foundations of the pyramids of the Mesoamerican temple, a good example being the turquoise shield dedicated to the rain god Traloc, which was buried under the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan.
Aztec turquoise shield
Religious associations
The ancient Mesoamerican respect for turquoise was reflected in its association with several important gods.
Both Toltecs and Aztecs worshiped Tonatiuh, the 5th and present sun in the Aztec cosmology. His name translates as "King of Turquoise".
In fact, the Aztecs believed that the sun was made of turquoise.
Another major deity is the fire god Xiuhtecuhtli, confusingly known as the "Turquoise Lord", probably because of the close connection between fire and the sun, or even the blue color of the center of the intense flame.
The Nahuatl word for turquoise is xihuitl, a word also used for fire and time itself, or more accurately, the solar year.
Xiuhtecuhtli is related to the xiuhtotl bird because it is turquoise in color, and this god often shows this bird perched on his forehead in works of art.
Mesoamerican priests often wore turquoise masks during important ceremonies.
Statues of gods wearing turquoise can be seen in Mesoamerican frescoes, such as those created in Tulum, on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in southern Mexico in the 11th and 12th centuries.
Xiuhtecuhtli was conceived in Aztec culture as wearing a pointed turquoise crown, breastplate, and mosaic shield.
Since Xiuhtecuhtli are also associated with warriors, they also wear turquoise objects, especially chest ornaments in the form of stylized butterflies or dogs. Dead warriors usually wear paper imitation turquoise jewelry for cremation.
Xiuhtecuhtli established a connection with rulers in the late postclassical period (13th to 16th centuries), so they also wore pointed crowns or crowns xiuhuitzolli made of turquoise mosaics inlaid in gold sheets.
The crown is also a Nahuatl glyph and was used to represent rulers, military leaders, judges and Aztec rulers Montezuma I (reigned 1440-1469).
Aztec rulers also wore xiuhtlapilli tilmahtli, a blue cloak decorated with turquoise fragments, at their coronations.
Statues of gods stand at the top of temple pyramids, and these statues are usually decorated with turquoise. This is how the statue of Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, stands atop the mayor of the temple of Tenochtitlan.
The fire serpent known as xiuhcoatl – Huitzilopochtli carries one as a weapon – is also believed to have turquoise-covered skin, so these creatures are often depicted as such in Mesoamerican art.
Mesoamerican priests often wore turquoise masks during important ceremonies.
The Aztec New Fire Ceremony, also known as the annual ritual or combination of Toxhiuhmolpilia, is a ceremony held only once every 52 years, completing a full cycle of the Aztec solar year (xiuhmopilli). The purpose of the ceremony is nothing more than to renew the sun and ensure another 52-year cycle.
During the ceremony, a high priest dressed as Xiuhtecuhtli and wearing a turquoise mask sacrificed the heart of a living victim and tried to light a holy flame in the now empty chest.
If the fire does not arise, the yang is not renewed, and there is no new fifty-two years of reincarnation; In short, it would be the end of the Aztec world. The connection to Xiuhtecuhtli and time explains why the symbol of turquoise is a circle with an hourglass in the middle.
In the late postclassical period, another symbol of semi-precious stones was the plum blossom shape (like five on a dice), which was also the way the Aztecs viewed their universe.
A turquoise masterpiece
One of the most striking works of art in Mesoamerica is the turquoise mosaic mask representing the god of fire Xiuhtecuhtli, dating from 1400-1521 AD.
The mask is cedar wood, has mother-of-pearl eyes, conch shell teeth, and once had gold leaf on the eyelids. The outer surface is made of hundreds of turquoise tiles, and the parts around the eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth are cut with particular precision.
The choice of shade was well thought out, using lighter, bluer tones where light naturally hits the face, such as the nose, cheeks, and forehead.
A peculiarity of the mask is the deliberate use of raised tiles at various points, almost like warts. These "warts" have led some scholars to speculate that the mask may represent the sun god Tonatiuh, who was once an ancient wart-covered deity who jumped into the fire and sacrificed the birth of Tonatiuh.
In contrast, other scholars point out that the inlays on the cheeks and bridge of the nose are slightly darker, forming a stylized butterfly, as are the inlays on the forehead, a creature closely related to Xiuhtecuhtli and a symbol of change and renewal.
The mask is meant to be worn by imitators of the god during religious ceremonies, or by a statue of the god, as indicated by the small holes on either side of the mask through which the rope can pass.
The mask is almost certainly part of a treasure that the conqueror Hernán Cortés (1485-1547) brought back from Mesoamerica and presented to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1519-1556).
The mask is on permanent display at the British Museum in London.
Aztec two-headed snake (details)
Two-headed snake chest
Another turquoise masterpiece, also now in the British Museum, is a striking double-headed snake chest ornament. The piece complements the mask of Xiuhtecuhtli, which is also carved cedar wood completely covered with small squares of turquoise.
The two red beaks are red oyster shells and the white teeth are conchs.
The eyes were once inlaid with materials such as pyrite or obsidian, as indicated by residual traces of beeswax.
It may also have been once part of ceremonial clothing and may have been related to the Quetzalcoatl god Quetzalcoatl. The snake is a powerful and often used figure in Mesoamerican art because it represents regeneration (because reptiles molt regularly).
The two-headed serpent or maquizcoatl is considered a bad omen, but the name is also associated with Huitzilopochtli, so the piece may have been worn on the chest of the high priest associated with that god. The piece is 17 inches or 43.3 centimeters wide.
Tezcatlipoca turquoise bone
Tescatellipoka skull
The third turquoise masterpiece to enter the British Museum is a human skull (male, aged around 30 years) inlaid with mosaics representing the Toltec and Aztec god Tezcatlipoca, who is closely associated with change in creation, war and conflict.
It may be worn as a back ornament, although its lining and deer leather belt may not be the case. This god is often depicted in art with a black stripe on his face, represented here by lignite bricks.
The eyes are made of polished pyrite and white conch shells, while the nasal passages are covered with red spiny oyster shells. Once again, the turquoise bricks are professionally shaped to perfectly cover the contours of the skulls behind them.
bibliography
"Worlds Collide"
Mexico
Illustrated Dictionary of Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya