Did Aztecs Have Turquoise?

James H. Sterling
James H. Sterling
• • 7 min read

Get It Sent to Your Inbox. with Its Brilliant Hues of Blue and Green, Turquoise Was a Highly Prized Gemstone to the Ancient Aztecs and Mixtec Mixtec the...

Did Aztecs Have Turquoise?

Get it sent to your inbox. With its brilliant hues of blue and green, turquoise was a highly prized gemstone to the ancient Aztecs and Mixtec

Mixtec
The Mixtecs (/ˈmiːstɛks, ˈmiːʃtɛks/), or Mixtecos, are indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as the state of Guerrero's Región Montañas, and Región Costa Chica, which covers parts of the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Guerrero and Puebla.
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in the region that stretches from central Mexico to Central America known as Mesoamerica.

Did Aztecs use turquoise?

Turquoise figures prominently in Aztec poetry and rituals, and was used to make jewelry, shields, knife handles, mirrors, and other objects belonging to high-status members of Aztec society, like rulers and priests.

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Why did Aztecs use turquoise?

For the Aztecs, turquoise symbolized the preciousness of life, the blue of the sky, and the blue of water, which were also associated with the rain god, Tlaloc. Mosaic masks may have adorned images of deities or been worn by god impersonators.

James H. Sterling

James H. Sterling

Environmental Science & Climate Journalist
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James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.