Jade use in Mesoamerica was largely influenced by
the conceptualization of the material as a rare and valued
commodity among
pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures,
such as the
Olmec, the
Maya, and the various groups in the
Valley of
Mexico
.
The only source from which the indigenous cultures could obtain jade was
located in the Motagua River valley in
Guatemala
. Jade was largely an
elite good that was highly
symbolic and used in the performance of
ideological rituals. It was
often worked or carved in a variety of ways, either as
ornamental stones, a medium upon which
hieroglyphs were inscribed, or shaped
into
figurines, symbolic weapons, and other
objects.
The general term jade refers to two separate rock types. The first
is called
nephrite, a
calcium and
magnesium rich
amphibole mineral.
Nephrite does not exist in Mesoamerica.
The second is
jadeitite, a
pyroxene rich in
sodium and
aluminum. Variation in color is largely due
to variation in
trace element
composition. In other words, the types of trace elements and their
quantities affect the overall color of the material. The “Olmec
Blue” jade owes its unique color to the presence of
iron and
titanium, while the
more typical green jade’s color is due to the varying presence of
sodium, aluminum, iron, and
chromium.
Translucence can vary as well, with
specimens ranging form nearly clear to completely
opaque.
Among Mesoamerican archaeologists, "jade" is sometimes used in a
manner that does not differentiate between jadeite and other
similar-looking, relatively hard greenstones such as
albitite,
omphacite,
chrysoprase, and
quartzite.
Sources in Mesoamerica
Map showing the locations of some of the main jade, obsidian and
serpentine sources in Mesoamerica
The archaeological search for the Mesoamerican jade sources, which
were largely lost at the time of the
Maya collapse, began in 1799 when
Alexander von Humboldt started his
geological research in the
New World.
Von Humboldt sought to determine whether or
not Neolithic jadeite celt excavated from European Megalithic
archaeological sites like
Stonehenge
and Carnac shared sources
with the similar looking jade celts from Mesoamerica (they do
not).
To date, the only documented source of jadeite in Mesoamerica is in
the lowland
Motagua River valley.
Research
conducted by Harvard
's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and
Ethnology
in the 1970s identified several ancient mines and alluvial sources in
the mountainous areas flanking the river valley (up to an elevation
of 6,000 feet). Several of the mines are connected by
ancient dry-laid stone paths.
From the Motagua River valley, jade was
traded throughout Mesoamerica, reaching areas as distant as the
Valley of
Mexico and Costa
Rica
.
Olmec jade ear flares.
Uses
Art
Jade was shaped into a variety of objects including, but not
limited to,
figurines,
celt,
ear spools
(circular
earrings with a large hole in the
center), and
teeth inlays
(small decorative pieces inserted into the
incisors).
Mosaic pieces of
various sizes were used to decorate
belt and
pectoral
coverings.
Jade
sculpture often depicted
deities, people,
shamanic
transformations, animals and plants, and various abstract forms.
Sculptures
varied in size from single beads, used for
jewelry and other decorations, to large
carvings, such as the 4.42 kilogram head of
the Maya sun
god found at Altun
Ha
. Jade workshop areas have been documented at
two Classic Maya sites in
Guatemala: Cancuen and Guaytan. The
archaeological investigation of these workshops
has informed researchers on how jadeite was worked in ancient
Mesoamerica.
Religion
The value of jade went beyond its material worth. Perhaps because
of its color, mirroring that of water and vegetation, it was
symbolically associated with life and death and therefore possessed
high
religious and spiritual
importance.
The Maya placed jade beads in the mouth of the dead.
Michael D. Coe
has suggested that this practice relates to a sixteenth century
funerary ritual performed at the deaths of
Pokom Maya lords: "When it appears then that some lord
is dying, they had ready a precious stone which they placed at his
mouth when he appeared to expire, in which they believe that they
took the spirit, and on expiring, they very lightly rubbed his face
with it. It takes the breath, soul or spirit."
The Maya also associated jade with the sun and the wind. Many Maya
jade sculptures and figurines of the wind god have been discovered,
as well as many others displaying breath and wind
symbols. In addition, caches of four jade objects
placed around a central element which have been found are believed
to represent not only the
cardinal
directions, but the directional winds as well.
The aesthetic and religious significance of the various colors
remains a source of controversy and speculation. The bright green
varieties may have been identified with the young Maize God, but
the Olmec fascination with the unique blue jade of Guatemala, and
its role in their rituals involving water sources remains a
mystery.
Working jade
Next to
emery, jade was the hardest
mineral known to ancient Mesoamerica. In the absence of metal
tools, ancient craftsmen used tools themselves made of jade,
leather
strops, string saws to cut and carve
jade, and reeds or other hard materials to drill holes.
(Mesoamerican artisans also used jade tools to work other stones.)
It would take many hours of work to create even a single jade
bead.
See also
Notes
- Pool (2007, p.150).
- However, Pool notes that "for many years, it had been suggested
that there might be another source in the Balsas River valley", p.
151.
- Miller (1999, p.74).
- Miller (1999, p.73).
- Pool, p. 151.
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