gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui, Mesoamerica, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mayans, Olmecs, Aztecs, geology, fashioning, cutting, jade artifacts, archaeology

The production of jade artefacts was a long and laborious process consisting of several technological stages and involving various tools. Unfortunately, in many cases the archaeological record is, in short, too limited to permit the identification of those technologies and tools. Nevertheless, the ethnohistorical, archaeological and experimental data, taken together, can be used to identify, describe and interpret the material and social processes related to jade production in ancient Mesoamerica.