gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui, Mesoamerica, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mayans, Olmecs, Aztecs, geology

Jade deposits are scarce in the world, and in Mesoamerica the necessary geological conditions for their formation existed. These deposits constituted the source of the material used for lapidary works for nearly 3,000 years, from the Preclassic period until the Spanish conquest.