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

Despite the fact that jade was the most highly valued material in Mesoamerica, little is known about its supply and production. In this work, we describe specific evidence relating to the mining, transport, and production and distribution of jade objects. We then address the issue of the relationships between the producers and the elites or groups that controlled the sources or exchange routes. Recent discoveries of jade workshops at sites in the Motagua River Valley and in the Petén will help to decipher the operation of this economic network. In addition, the present study compares consumer sites in the Lowlands in order to clarify the manner in which this material was exchanged.