gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui, Mesoamerica, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mayans, Olmecs, Aztecs, archaeology, history, archaeogemology

Jade and greenstone objects have been held in high regard by many cultures because of their limited geological availability and their unique optical and mechanical properties. Jade and greenstone objects symbolized life, fertility and eternity to early Mesoamerican peoples. In recent years, scientific studies on jade and greenstone objects have been performed to establish provenance and usage, identify composition and verify the presence of particular materials. These studies of jade and greenstone objects are generally divided geographically, with considerable interest focused on China and Central America. Most studies are focused on objects from one particular archaeological site; however, a few studies have examined collections from a range of sites. The use of multiple complementary analytical techniques has been shown to be the most effective method for characterizing and understanding the technical information obtained from cultural heritage objects. In our study, we examine a set of Mesoamerican jade and greenstone objects from the collection at the Dallas Museum of Art using multiple non-destructive techniques, including scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and handheld X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. We briefly discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each technique. Lastly, we present the results from our study and discuss them in their archaeological and historical context.