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Gold Jewelry

One of the most popular materials for displaying and storing wealth is with gold. Gold jewelry was originally fashioned as a way of securing wealth. It was also a way to display the amount of wealth that a person had. Gold is a very soft metal so it can easily be shaped into different forms, and easily melted and poured into molds. In south America gold was abundant, so many native cultures such as the Incas in Peru, and the Mayan and Aztec cultures in central America used gold to make most of their jewelry.

The Incas became masters at creating gold jewelry, and often inlaid other precious stones such as turquoise, mother of pearl and amethyst in the gold. In Aztec culture gold was only worn by the nobility and it was used to show rank, power and wealth. Birds and feathers were often added, creating a bright display. The brighter and more elaborate the costume, the more power that person had. Headdresses and elaborate breastplates were also common in Mayan culture, however early on access to metals such as gold was limited, and so many older Mayan artifacts are made from stone or bone.

Because gold jewelry was widely used and available it played a huge role in the fate of these early civilizations. The Spanish established an empire fueled on the seizure of American gold and other precious metals that eventually destroyed and amalgamated those ancient cultures. Entire villages and even cities were destroyed to procure gold and send it back to Europe. The desirability of gold has not waned since its discovery and it is still the standard that other currencies are measured against.

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