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

Jade is a unique stone. Its exquisite range of colours, hardness and durability, transparency and delicate lustre, together with its acoustic qualities, led it to embody, in the ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica and Asia, human and cultural values intrinsic to those societies. For a time considered more precious than gold or silver, it has throughout human history been attributed with mystical and magical powers, as well as curative properties. In China, for example, it was associated with longevity and even immortality, while in Europe it was regarded as an effective remedy for kidney ailments. Through an interdisciplinary and intercultural perspective, this publication brings together eleven studies on various aspects related to this material: geochemical and archaeometric analyses, experimental archaeology projects, and anthropological investigations that together provide a broad panorama of the sociocultural significance and the profound symbolic and ideological connotations that jade and other green stones have held in various regions of ancient Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, China, and Korea.