gems, jade, fei cui, pyroxene jade, jadeite, fei cui, Aztecs, Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica, Maya, Mayan

The mineralogical composition and typological classifcation of a group of 226 Axe-God pendants from the Jade and pre-Columbian Culture Museum (from the Instituto Nacional de Seguros) in San José (Costa Rica) was studied, using a non-invasive characterization technique and a novel stylistic classifcation scheme. Possible composition-design correlations were examined through descriptive and functional statistical analysis. This study constitutes an initial step towards the comprehensive analysis of this distinctive pendant design.