gems, jade, pyroxene jade, fei cui, mesoamerica, Guatemala, Mexico, Aztec, Olmec, Maya, Costa Rica, Honduras, glyptic

A cylinder seal, apparently from the Olmec occupation at Tlatilco, is inscribed with what may be the oldest writing known from Mesoamerica. The writing system is unlike any previously known and is typologically more advanced than other Mesoamerican systems.