And again, dear readers, we are going in search of jewels in the Sea of Cortez! ЗThe land of the Incas, Mayans and Indians is called again to "walk" through the ancient possessions of destroyed civilizations and plunge into the depths of history.
In the Sea of Cortez, off the coast of California, we have discovered beautiful pearls, shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow, like the plumage of a bird of paradise:
In this article, I want to introduce you to an unusual gem - the Orange Prickly Oyster Shell.
The spiny oyster shell is harvested from the Gulf of California. This area, also known as the Sea of Cortez, is located between the Baja California peninsula and the Mexican mainland.
The Spiny Oyster Gem is a colorful shell that comes from the oyster species Spondylus varius, as the name suggests, Spiny Oysters are covered in menacing spines. Spiny oyster shells are unique, beautiful, and difficult to collect.
The orange spiny oyster can range in color from yellow to orange to red. The orange spiny oyster is the most common species and is found in the middle to low depths of the ocean so snorkellers and scuba divers can easily reach it.
But the purple spiny oyster is much more difficult to get, as it lives at a considerable depth of the ocean.
The very first European account of the lands of the Inca Empire describes a trading raft loaded with riches. In 1525, the expedition of Francisco Pizarro collided with local sailing ships. Filled with objects of gold and silver, including crowns, tiaras, belts, bracelets, leg ornaments, and breast plates, the raft's cargo also included emeralds, crystal, and amber. To the surprise of the Spaniards, these outfits were exchanged for coral-colored shells.
The Incas revered the red seashell more than silver or gold.
During Inca times, Spondylus shells, known as mullah, were called "daughters of the sea, mother of all waters" and were closely associated with fertility and abundance. The shells were offered as gifts to the gods, left in agricultural fields and in springs to ensure constant abundance and increase productivity.
As in many societies, materials with such strong supernatural associations were used to display royalty, such that a king on the north coast of Peru had a courtier who scattered shell dust where the monarch would have to walk.
Spiny oyster shells are a rare find, and Native American artists especially appreciate their beautiful reds, pinks, browns, yellows, oranges, purples, and whites. Many Zuni artists began to create their jewelry with orange shell instead of coral, which was no longer allowed to be mined.
Archaeologists have found spiny oysters in excavations throughout South America. It has been used in artwork, jewelry, and sometimes as currency. Obviously, it was revered in many cultures in the past, but is still in demand.
Original decorations with an orange spiny oyster shell:
Once upon a time, the Spaniards considered the natives to be savages, backward people - after all, they preferred these bright, orange shells worth nothing to gold. I can see the high artistic taste of the disappeared ancient tribes.
