Ancestral Image by Kim Kori

The Horned Lizard, affectionately known as the “Horny Toad” is one of my favorite little creatures of the Southwest. Evidently they were revered by the prehistoric Indians as well, since artifacts decorated with their image have been found. In this sculpture, a Short Horned Lizard comes across a shell pendant that has been etched with his image. It is thought that the inland prehistoric Native Americans traded with the coastal Natives for shells and developed a process using fermented cactus juice to etch patterns into the shells.