gems, jade, pyroxene jade, fei cui, jadeite, jadeitite, Guatemala, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Hispanola

The multi-vectorial distribution of the various forms of jade has recently attracted renewed attention in the Americas. This renewed interest stems from two important developments: first, the identification of artefacts made from various types of jadeitite in pre-Columbian contexts within the Antilles, materials believed to have originated from the Motagua River Valley of Guatemala, the principal source of jadeitite thus far documented in Central America; and second, the discovery of jadeitite outcrops in both Hispaniola and Cuba, discoveries that fundamentally alter earlier conceptions regarding the geological distribution of this raw material in the Western Hemisphere. This study examines the implications of these findings for understanding the dynamics of interaction and exchange among the pre-Hispanic peoples of the Greater Caribbean.