Editing Turquoise (section)

== Cultural associations ==

The goddess [[Hathor]] was associated with turquoise, as she was the patroness of [[Serabit el-Khadim]], where it was mined. Her titles included "Lady of Turquoise", "Mistress of Turquoise", and "Lady of Turquoise Country".<ref>{{cite book|title=Bulletin of the Egyptian Museum|date=2007|author=The Supreme Council of Antiquities|page=24}}</ref>

In Western culture, turquoise is also the traditional [[birthstone]] for those born in the month of December. The turquoise is also a stone in the Jewish [[Kohen Gadol|High Priest]]'s [[breastplate]], described in [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] chapter 28. The stone is also considered sacred to the indigenous [[Zuni people|Zuni]] and [[Pueblo]] peoples of the American Southwest.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lowry |first1=Joe Dan |title=Turquoise : the world story of a fascinating gemstone |location=Layton, Utah |isbn=978-1423650898 |date=2018 |pages=36–41 |edition=Updated |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gRkkACkgN2AC&q=Lowry%2C+Joe+Dan.+Turquoise.+p.%C2%A036%E2%80%9341.&pg=PA6 |access-date=11 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|series=Collector's Guide|volume=17|title=Sharing the Art of New Mexico|date=2003|page=184}}</ref> The pre-Columbian [[Aztec]] and [[Maya people|Maya]] also considered it to be a valuable and culturally important stone.{{sfn|Lowry|2018|page=34}}