Mexican ironwood carving is a Mexican tradition of carving the wood of the Olneya tesota tree, a Sonora Desert tree commonly called ironwood (palo fierro in Spanish).
Olneya tesota is a slow growing important shade tree in northwest Mexico and the southwest U.S. The wood it produces is very dense and sinks in water. Traditionally, people used it for firewood and charcoal, and some carving.
The tradition of carving it began with the Seri indigenous people of the state of Sonora. In the mid-20th century, the Seri had to move from their traditional home on Tiburon Island to the mainland, around the same time tourism was developing in Kino Bay. The first to carve ironwood for sale was Jose Astorga, who began with other materials and ironwood for utilitarian items. In the 1960s, he began carving ironwood figures, which sold well to tourists, and others followed. The craft began to be widely distributed in the 1970s, with non Seris beginning to carve, introducing animals from other areas as subjects, and the use of power tools. Carving, charcoal production and loss of habitat has put pressure on the ironwood tree, which the Mexican government declared protected in 1994. Carving is still permitted, but the price of the wood has increased and production has decreased.