Materials Used to Carve Zuni Fetishes

The Zunis create their wonderful fetishes from minerals and materials found round the world. We've put together this little guide of some of the substances used to help you understand a bit more about your Zuni Fetish. Sort of makes you feel like a geologist, doesn't it?

Material	Description
Abalone Shell	Any of various large edible marine gastropods of the genus Haliotis, having an ear-shaped shell with a row of holes along the outer edge. The colorful pearly interior of the shell is often used for making ornaments. Also called ear shell.
Alabaster	A type of gypsum that is very soft. Comes in variety of colors. Most comes from Colorado and Nevada.
Amber	Tree resin that has hardened and been preserved in the earth's crust for millions of years. From the Baltic region and the Dominican Republic.
Ammonite Fossil	Fossils of cephalopod mollusks, along with squid and octopuses. Some are over 100 million years old.
Antler	Primarily from deer and alk, although moose or caribou antler is used. Brought to Zuni by traders.
Azurite	A deep blue mineral often found with turquoise in copper deposits.
Black Marble	A type of limestone found primarily in Europe. Provides great surface for sgrafitto carving.
Boulder Opal	Ironstone based mineral that is mined in Australia.
Calcite	The primary ore of calcium. Usually imported from Mexico.
Chrysocolla	Blue or green mineral often found with turquoise in copper deposits.
Coral	An undersea organism first imported into Zuni in the 1930's. It is now a rarity. From the Mediterranean.
Dolomite	A type of limestone; or a dolomite rock that comes from Mexico.
Egyptian Marble	A hard crystalline metamorphic rock that takes a high polish; used for sculpture and as building material
Fish Rock	Fish Rock is serpentine, a very common mineral found worldwide and appears in a wide range of colors.
Fluorite	Flourite occurs throughout the world and occurs in unflawed crystals in beautiful colors.
Fossil	A remnant or trace of an organism of a past geologic age, such as a skeleton or leaf imprint, embedded and preserved in the earth's crust
Fossilized Ivory	A remnant or trace of an organism of a past geologic age, such as a skeleton or leaf imprint, embedded and preserved in the earth's crust
Fossilized Jasper	A remnant or trace of an organism of a past geologic age, such as a skeleton or leaf imprint, embedded and preserved in the earth's crust
Fossilized Snail	A remnant or trace of an organism of a past geologic age, such as a skeleton or leaf imprint, embedded and preserved in the earth's crust
Indian Paint	Comes from Nevada with tan, black and brick red markings. A type of jasper.
Iron Pyrite	Fool's gold
Ivory	Ivory used today is fossilized ivory from Alaska. Elephant ivory is no longer used.
Jasper	A fine grained quartz.
Jet	A hard black type of lignite coal mined for centuries around Acoma Pueblo.
Labradorite	Labradorite is an unusual mineral that reflects light and disperses it into different colors. From Finland and Russia usually.
Lapis	A mineral found in Afghanistan and Chile
Limestone	A sedimentary rock consisting mainly of calcium that was deposited by the remains of marine animals
Malachite	A secondary copper mineral found in oxidized copper deposits. Much comes from the Congo.
Mother of Pearl Shell	The iridescent inside of a shell.
Obsidian	Natural glass used by some Native Americans in the manufacture of arrowheads and points.
Onyx	Onys is a form of agate with parallel banding. This structure lends itself to cameo making. Onyx is a species of chalcedony
Orange Alabaster	A type of gypsum that is very soft. Comes in variety of colors. Most comes from Colorado and Nevada.
Picasso Marble	A type of limestone from southwestern Utah. Found in tans, browns, gerys, white and black.
Pipestone	Catlinite is a hardened clay mixture tinted red by iron. Used by Plains Indians for ceremonial pipes. Most from Minnesota.
Rainbow Calsilica	A stablized material appearing in seams of color in the host rock (volcanic rhyolite). From Mexico
Red Slag	Vitreous materials containing impurities from the ore and forming on the surface of molten metals
Rosetta	A form of basalt.
Selenite	A Crystalline gypsum from Utah.
Sepertarian	Clay ironstone with yellow to white calcite crystals from Utah.
Serpentine	Serpentine is a very common mineral found worldwide and appears in a wide range of colors.
Slag	Vitreous materials containing impurities from the ore and forming on the surface of molten metals
Soap Stone	A brownish stone found in Colorado.
Spiny Oyster Shell	Spondylus oyster shows red, orange or purple on the outside and white on the inside.
Sugulite	A manganese mineral introduced from South Africa around 1979.
Tigers Eye	Yellow-brown quartz from South Africa.
Travertine	Also known as "Mexican onyx, it is a variety of calcite.
Turquoise	Copper aluminum phosphate. The bluer, the more copper. Mined in tunnel and open-pit mines throughout the Southwest.
Variscite	Greenish aluminum phosphate primarily from Utah and Nevada.
Vermillion	The crystalline (metallic and sub-metallic) varieties are generally harder than the earthy (non-metallic) varieties. An ore of iron.
White Marble	Metamorphosed limestone or dolomite.
Wild Horse	A form of jasper found in Eastern Oregon and Western Idaho
Wonder Stone	Wonderstone is a natural stone that is quarried in South Africa and it is made up of 58% Silica and 30% Alumina.
Zebra Stone	A black and white marble from Utah. Also called "skunk rock"
Zuni Stone	Non-crystalline travertine found on the Zuni reservation.

Arts of Native America Materials Used To Make Zuni Fetishes [Home] [Up]

Arts of Native America
Materials Used To Make Zuni Fetishes
[Home] [Up]