Chalchuite [From the Mexican
name of the stone chalchihuitl + ite.] A green variety of
turquoise from Mexico.
The Oxford English Dictionary; 1971
Chalchiuhtlicue Goddess of
rivers, springs, and lakes, Chalchiuhtlicue could cause whirlwinds and hurricanes.
Her name means "Jade Skirt". She was the wife of the rain god Tlaloc,
Chalchiuhtlicue was also worshiped as a goddess of childbirth and protector of
children because of the water that breaks before a woman gives birth.
DK Illustrated Dictionary of Mythology, 1998
The Greek "chalcos" meaning "copper" or "brass" is in no way
related to the Nahuatl chalchihuitl.
Significance of Mines in the Cerrillos Mining District
Within the Cerrillos Mining District is a rich history of Indian, Spanish, and
Territorial American mining that is unparalleled in the American Southwest.
Mount Chalchihuitl contains a huge pit excavated into
solid rock. Grooved axes, mauls, picks hand-held hammers anvils, lapidary stones,
Indian pottery, and remains of camp fires document prehistoric turquoise mining
activities, most of which occurred between 1375 and 1500. Although evidence of
Spanish use is minimal, the name, Mount Chalchihuitl, is a Nahuatl term for
blue-green stone that was probably assigned by the Tlascalans who came up from
Mexico with Oņate and other early Spanish settlers. During the Territorial Period,
a shaft was sunk into the hill, but most of the extracted turquoise had little
commercial value.
Lead mining was also important. The Mina del Tiro area
contains a lead outcrop 1,800 feet long and of unknown depth. Prehistoric stone
tools and ceramics are found around this seam. Nearby deposits of turquoise had
evidence of Territorial Period exploration.
The Bethsheba lead mine was used by Native Americans
from about 1400 until the arrival of the Spanish. A vertically oriented shaft that
is over 20 feet deep contained hundreds of hafted stone picks and mauls employed
to remove the galena used in the lead-based glaze paint decorations on pottery.
Evidence for later Spanish use comes from a shaft in the center of a vein that
goes to an unknown depth; slag from smelting and olive jar fragments that provided
a base for the raw ore attest to the reduction of lead that was later made into
bullets.
After 1879, territorial settlers extended the Spanish shafts and left remains of
blasting cords, square nails, steel drill bits, and bottles that date to the turn
of the century.
Joan Mathien, NPS; 1999
This website is maintained by the Cerrillos
Hills Park Coalition
and is dedicated to the creation, enhancement and stewardship
of an historical, recreational, and cultural open space in
the
Cerrillos Hills, Santa Fe County, New Mexico, USA
"chalcos" meaning "copper" or "brass" is in no way
related to the Nahuatl chalchihuitl.
The Bethsheba lead mine was used by Native Americans
from about 1400 until the arrival of the Spanish. A vertically oriented shaft that
is over 20 feet deep contained hundreds of hafted stone picks and mauls employed
to remove the galena used in the lead-based glaze paint decorations on pottery.
Evidence for later Spanish use comes from a shaft in the center of a vein that
goes to an unknown depth; slag from smelting and olive jar fragments that provided
a base for the raw ore attest to the reduction of lead that was later made into
bullets.