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

Recent investigations carried out in the Middle Motagua region, located between the departments of Zacapa and El Progreso, through the Regional Program of Archaeological Investigations of the Middle Motagua (PRIAMM), have identified cultural evidence demonstrating that the area was closely linked to the production of jade artifacts in the pre-Hispanic period. At the archaeological site of Vega del Cobán, a scientific research program was conducted that involved excavations of Jade Workshop No. 1, identified in previous seasons and associated with Structure C4-6, located in the southern part of the site. Strategies were also implemented that identified a possible workshop in the northern zone of the site, in the area known as Patios Elevados. Through these investigations and contextualization with bibliographic records, this work presents the relevance of the region in relation to one of the most highly valued goods of the pre-Hispanic period: jade.