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

Up to the present, the only jadeite deposits known in Mesoamerica are located north of Manzanotal, a settlement situated east of San Cristóbal Acasaguastlán in the middle course of the Motagua River Valley (Foshag and Leslie 1955; Barbour 1957). New deposits were discovered by E. Böse during a period of geological studies carried out in the region and were visited by the authors in July 1965. Most of these albite and jadeite deposits are located north of the paved Guatemala–Puerto Barrios highway, between the El Cintillo and Uyús rivers (see Figure 1), occurring as tectonic inclusions of varying dimensions within outcrops of foliated serpentinite. Becquelin and Bosc describe newly identified albite and jadeite occurrences near San Cristóbal Acasaguastlán in Guatemala’s middle Motagua Valley, where the deposits occur as tectonic inclusions of varying dimensions within foliated serpentinite. The authors report shallow pits surrounded by angular fragments of albite and jadeite, small mounds, terraces, and nearby obsidian blade fragments, which together suggest rudimentary extraction, possibly in prehistoric times, although they stress that further investigation is required to establish the nature and age of the workings. Other jadeite occurrences in the region lack evidence of ancient exploitation. The archaeological evidence from nearby Guaytán, Manzanotal, and other middle Motagua sites includes jade fragments, partly worked beads and drills, and a jadeite block bearing percussion marks. The authors suggest that inhabitants of the valley collected albite and jadeite from terraces and gravels of the Motagua and perhaps directly from serpentinite sources, manufactured beads and other simple ornaments, and exported jade as blocks and, in some cases, finished objects. They conclude that exploitation and trade in jade probably flourished during the Classic period and that the San Cristóbal region may have supplied a substantial portion of the jade used elsewhere in Mesoamerica.