Desert Messenger

12 www.DesertMessenger.com February 5, 2014 Across from McDonald's • Quartzsite NEED CASH? Jim Buys STERLING SILVER! All Silver Coins, .999 Bars, Sterling Silverware, etc. By Jenn Jedidiah Free for RocksInMyHead™ In the ancient, arid lands across the desert southwest, Persia and the Far East, the people danced and rejoiced when the rains came. Native American legend says that their tears of joy mixed with the rain and air from the sky and seeped into Mother Earth to join with the minerals and be- come the Fallen SkyStone. Native Americans had as many different words for this stone as there were languages spoken, however most of them translated into English as some form of "sky stone". We know this stone today by the Euro- pean name "turquoise". Turquoise is a hydrous copper aluminum phosphate that typically forms in arid climates. Turquoise forms one tiny crystal at a time, as water seeps through a host rock and interacts slowly over thousands or millions of years with a rare combination of copper, iron, and aluminum. Other minerals in the deposit or the host rock pro- duce the variations in color, hard- ness, and matrix that can be found in turquoise. The actual process by which turquoise is formed is even more rare than the geological process that forms diamonds. Deposits of turquoise have been found in the Southwest United States, the Middle East, the Far East, Chile, and Mexico. Tur- quoise has been prized by cultures around the world for its beauty and reputed spiritual qualities for over 7000 years. In the Middle East, Egyptians were mining and creat- ing jewelry from turquoise 7000 years ago, and in Persia turquoise was mined since before 2100BC. The Middle East supplied tur- quoise to the Greeks and Romans for centuries. Most turquoise that was traded with European cultures came from the Middle East by way of Turkish traders. Our modern name "turquoise" is derived from the French word for "Turkish stone". In the ancient Far East- ern cultures of Tibet and China, turquoise was mined and highly sought after since earliest times as a stone of royalty and wealth. Here in North America, Native Americans had been mining "sky stone" by hand with stone mauls and antler picks for centuries before the arrival of the Europe- ans. The oldest known source of turquoise in the desert southwest is what is known today as the Cer- rillos Mining District on Turquoise Mountain in New Mexico. In fact, this is the oldest mine of any kind on the North American Continent and dates back over 2000 years. Turquoise mined from this area has been found in Chaco Canyon, where it was worked by Chaco artisans and traded with the Aztecs and Mixtecs as far away as Oaxaca, Mexico. The turquoise was carved into beads or animal fetishes, or used as inlay on wood, bone, and shell ornaments. Chaco turquoise Turquoise, the Fallen Sky Stone ADVENTURES WITH ROCKS 208-290-5102 Honey Do Lists? Builder with 35 years experience in satisfied customers! High quality workmanship Small to Large Projects Call Rich! not a licensed contractor C & B LOCK & KEY 39 YEARS EXPERIENCE 928-927-6589 Mobile Service Only Now Available TRANSPONDER AUTO KEYS (Electronic Chip Keys) Jeep, Chrysler, Ford Chevrolet, Toyota & many more! Betty Crenshaw, Owner Quartzsite Chiropractic $ 25 Adjustments DR. COLE IS BACK! at Quartzsite Medical Center Just west of Carl's Jr. on W. Main St. Hours: Friday 9am - 1pm & 2:30-5pm • Sat. 9-11 Dr. Michael Cole, D.C. Providing Chiropractic Care to Quartzsite! For more information call Dr. Michael Cole, D.C. 928-533-4588 Craft Fair 1st Sat. of every month! Daily Activities! QIA 928-927-6325 235 E. Ironwood St., Quartzsite BINGO FRIDAY NIGHTS Opens at 5pm. Early Birds 6:30pm. Main7pm Concessions Available Desert Messenger offers FREE Classifi ed Ads! Here's the small print: Items for sale under $1000. Private Party Only. 1 per month. Yard/Garage/Craft Sales, Wanted, Give-a-ways, Free, Lost & Found, etc. (non-commercial) For more information, contact Rain at 928-916-4235 or Email: Editor@DesertMessenger.com SEE ROCKS PAGE 36

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