Although turquoise has captivated man’s imagination for centuries, nobody knows when it came to our attention. Archaeological and literary references to the stone predate the Christian era by five millennial. The four bracelets of Queen Zar, found on her mummified arm, date back to the second ruler of the Egypt’s First Dynasty, approximately 5500 B.C. Although not specifically mentioned in the Bible, scholars believe that the robe worn by the high priest Aaron was adorned with turquoise. Aristotle, Pliny, and others refer to stones that must have been turquoise. After the 4th or 5th century A.D., many of the writings that appeared discussed the stone.

Explorers such as Marco Polo took time to write about it.
Turquoise was likely found and used by early man. Certainly, the prehistoric peoples of the Western hemisphere knew about turquoise; pieces have been found in burial and archeological sites throughout the two continents. The Anasazi and Hohokam mined turquoise throughout our Southwest. There is absolute evidence that these prehistoric people mined turquoise at Cerillos and the Burro Mountains of New Mexico, Kingman and Morenci in Arizona, and the Conejos areas of Colorado. It’s apparent that turquoise was a popular trade item, as so much has been found in archeological sites many hundreds of miles away from sources.

It seems clear that turquoise was always considered a stone of life and good fortune and it even had healing properties. Many people from around the world found uses for turquoise in numerous ways.

North and South America

As mentioned earlier, turquoise was a very important item to the early inhabitants of North and South America. The stone was used in religion, art, trade, treaty negotiations, and jewelry. It was considered by some to be associated with life itself.