Native American Jewelry

The art of jewelry making is deeply entangled with the culture and traditions of the ancient civilization. This is particularly evident in the rich Native American heritage where a number of highly interesting jewelry pieces designs have originated with a colorful history that can be traced as far back as 300 BC and was largely concentrated around what is presently identified as the southern part of Arizona. According to the historical archives, the members of the tribes considered the art of jewelry making a major industry and people back then were predominantly seen wearing jewelry items that were fashioned from shells, bones, and turquoise to make necklaces, rings and beads.

The Native American jewelry primarily used seashells such as the marine bivalve known as Glycymeris. This is mainly some of the early Native American population are living in near the Gulf of California and some travel near this region just to collect attractive shells. This period have already shown early signs of the distinctive design of Native American jewelry depicting some finely etched and unique geometric designs that has now been largely associated with most of their jewelry collections. Even colorful pendants and charms are very much a popular body ornament at that time made, which were mostly made from stunning pieces of turquoise. This explains why Native American turquoise jewelry is very much a part of he ancient tradition and culture of the early civilization and some of these wonderfully pieces had proven to be among the highly coveted items by serious collectors of native jewelry. Soon, intricately carved figurines appeared such as the popular Hohokam frog that features a striking eye made on inlaid turquoise.

As the years progressed, the fine techniques of making Native American jewelry soon spread throughout the Anasazi population from the north and the Mogollon tribe members from the east. Some of the stunning shell materials were soon imported from the Pacific such as the Abalone and the spiny oyster, as people began to gain more sophisticated appreciation to finely crafted jewelry items. While these two shells have remained to be a popular material used today, gemstones and minerals have also taken center stage as it was observed to produce more attractive accessory items than any other materials. What is interesting is the fact that from the early period up until the modern times, almost all types of Native American jewelry still remained traded, manufactured and worn by many fashionable people who are constantly on the lookout for unique pieces of jewelry that they can easily incorporate with the outfits. And most of the techniques used years ago are still very much the same skills that are practiced today.

Cherokee or Native American Indian jewelry also offers one of the most astonishing pieces that can be considered to be a legacy from the rich culture. Silver and turquoise are very much a dominant component of their jewelries. But the focus of these pieces is not entirely on the materials used but the exceptional workmanship that is quite evident in every piece of genuine Cherokee accessory. About the timeless favorites are the Concho belts and bracelets and the Indian-inspired beaded accessories that are certainly one of the eye-catching pieces.

A clear understanding of the intricacies of native jewelries can help one develop a fine appreciation of this primitive craft that still lived on and thrived in the modern era. If you will take a closer look on the quality of the workmanship in the past, you will surely realize how people value fine jewelries back then. These pieces were of course all delicately handcrafted to perfection since machines back then were not available. Antive jewelries is one of the best ways to truly get a glimpse of the quality of life back then and truly a legacy well worth all the appreciation it is enjoying now.