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

Between 2011 and 2012, an analysis was carried out on jade artefacts from the Maya site of Nakum, located in the northeastern part of the Department of Petén. All of the jade artefacts were discovered during research conducted by the Nakum Archaeological Project between 2006 and 2012. This paper presents the principal results of this study within a broader cultural and geographic context, comparing the Nakum objects with artefacts known from other Maya sites. The Nakum collection consists of 196 jade artefacts, including beads of various shapes, pendants, ear spools, and pectorals. Almost all of the artefacts were recovered from ritual contexts, including burials and offerings excavated in various structures at Nakum, especially within temple-pyramid constructions.