Description
Heishe or heishi (pronounced "hee shee") are small disc- or tube-shaped beads made of organic shells or cut and polished stones. They originated among the Kewa Pueblo People (formerly Santo Domingo Pueblo) of New Mexico, predating the use of metals in jewelry by those people. The name is the word for shell bead in the eastern Keresan language of the Santo Domingo Indians. The oldest examples of heishe date to around 6000 BCE, although the same technique was used in North Africa 30,000 years ago, using ostrich eggshells. Modern heishe beads are often mechanically mass-produced; however, some artists still handmake beads. The beads are hand-chipped, with holes drilled through the centers using pointed stones.
Santo Domingo Pueblo is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sandoval County, New Mexico, U.S.A. The 2000 census recorded the population as 2,550. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 2.0 square miles (5.2 km²), all of it land. Santo Domingo Pueblo is located at an elevation of approximately 5,100 feet (1,581 m) above sea level.
