section_path: History/North and South America
section_name: North and South America
paragraph_text: North and South America
  
  Jewellery making started in the Americas with the arrival of Paleo-Indians more than 15,000 years ago. This jewellery would have been made from stone, shell, bone and other perishable materials. The American continent is home to 2 cradles of civilization: in the Andes and Mesoamerica. Cultures in these regions developed more complex methods of jewellery creation. The Andes is the origin of hot working metallurgy in the Americas and consequently the region has the longest history of work in materials such as silver, platinum and gold. Metallurgy began in Mesoamerica during the Termainal Classic era, likely arriving from direct maritime trade with the Andean cultures. As a result, western Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Tarascans and Mixtecs, had more complex use of the technology.
  
  With the Moche culture, goldwork flourished. The pieces are no longer simple metalwork, but are now masterful examples of jewellery making. Pieces are sophisticated in their design, and feature inlays of turquoise, mother of pearl, spondylus shell, and amethyst. The nose and ear ornaments, chest plates, small containers and whistles are considered masterpieces of ancient Peruvian culture. A notable example of Andean metallurgy is the Northern Andean cultures' work with platinum, which has a much higher melting point than other precious metals. There are only a few known examples of cold worked platinum in the Old World and no known intentionally hot worked examples (platinum was not identified as a separate element and small inclusions appeared in some goldwork). In the New World however, certain Andean cultures recognized platinum as a separate metal and were able to incorporate it into jewellery, such as through sintering it with gold.
  
  Among the Late Post-Classic Aztecs, only nobility wore gold jewellery, as it showed their rank, power, and wealth. A large portion of "Aztec gold" jewellery was created by Mixtec artisans. The Mixtecs were particularly known for their goldwork and gold jewellery was part of the tribute paid by Mixtec polities to the Aztecs. In general, the more jewellery an Aztec noble wore, the higher his status or prestige. The Emperor and his High Priests, for example, would be nearly completely covered in jewellery when making public appearances. Although gold was the most common and a popular material used in Aztec jewellery, jade, turquoise, and certain feathers were considered more valuable. In addition to adornment and status, the Aztecs also used jewellery in sacrifices to appease the gods.
  
  Another ancient American civilization with expertise in jewellery making were the Maya. During the Pre-Classic and Classic era of Maya civilization, the Maya were making jewellery from local materials such as jade, pearls, and sea shell while also incorporating imported materials such as obsidian and turquoise. In the Terminal Classic and Post-Classic, importation of gold, silver, bronze, and copper lead to the use of these materials in jewellery. Merchants and nobility were the only few that wore expensive jewellery in the Maya region, much the same as with the Aztecs. Jade in particular had an important role across Mesoamerica.
  
  In Northern America, Native Americans used shells, wood, turquoise, and soapstone The turquoise was used in necklaces and to be placed in earrings. The turquoise incorporated into Mesoamerican jewellery was primarily obtained through trade with Oasisamerica. Native Americans with access to oyster shells, often located in only one location in America, traded the shells with other tribes, showing the great importance of the body adornment trade in Northern America.
  
  Jewellery played a major role in the fate of the Americas when the Spanish colonizers were spurred to search for gold on the American mainland after coming into contact with Caribbean natives that had gold jewellery obtained through trade with the mainland. Continued contact with Native Americans wearing gold jewellery eventually lead to Spanish expeditions of the mythological El Dorado.