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

Jade is a general term for two distinct minerals — jadeite and nephrite. There is as yet no evidence for the exploitation of nephrite by the ancient Maya and, in this study, “jade” is therefore used interchangeably with “jadeite.” Previous research has provided evidence concerning the use and significance of jade among the ancient Maya in both elite and non-elite contexts. The recent discovery at the site of Nim li Punit in Belize of an exquisitely carved T-shaped jade pendant, bearing an inscribed wind glyph on the obverse and hieroglyphic text on the reverse, has demonstrated that very little attention has been devoted to this type of artifact in the scholarly literature. Accordingly, this study has two principal aims: first, to investigate the meanings of T-shaped jade pendants and ornaments within the Maya area; and second, to demonstrate that the T-shaped Ik’ wind glyph, one of the key symbols appearing from the Preclassic through the Postclassic periods in the Maya region, reflects an “international” pan-Mesoamerican tradition. This problem is approached through semiotic analysis and the theory of inalienable possessions in order to examine the production, communication and meaning of the wind sign. The study argues that the jade pendant from Nim li Punit represents part of a broader pan-Mesoamerican tradition of wind symbolism, originating in the jade spoons and wind-god veneration of the Gulf Coast, related to Costa Rican jade clam pendants and avian imagery, and analogous to Highland Mexican shell pendants semantically associated with the wind deity Quetzalcoatl.