gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui, Mesoamerica, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mayans, Olmecs, Aztecs, archaeology, history, archaeogemology, Pre-Columbian jade; Costa Rica; Maya; exchange; iconography, lapidary

Despite the recognized importance of the Guatemalan Highlands within Formative-period trade networks of Mesoamerica, relatively little research on this time period has been conducted in the region. Studies undertaken in the Gulf Coast Lowlands, the Southern Maya Lowlands, and the Pacific Lowlands have all yielded a variety of trade goods originating in the Guatemalan Highlands. Jade has been identified from the Manzanal–Acasaguastlán–Guaytán area, along with obsidian from El Chayal and San Martín Jilotepeque. While the actual source areas for these trade goods have been identified, very little archaeological research has been conducted either within these source regions or on the trade routes that connected them to other parts of Mesoamerica. Nevertheless, various foreign groups, and the trade opportunities they provided, are thought to have had a major influence on the cultures of the indigenous highland populations. Support for this hypothesis has most often been drawn from the Valley of Guatemala, particularly the site of Kaminaljuyú. The early appearance of mound construction, the erection of stelae, and the use of certain ceramic types have all been cited as evidence for the developmental importance of contact with foreign groups. Outside the Valley of Guatemala, however, relatively little is known about either the nature of foreign contact during this period or the effects such contact may have had on local cultures. This paper attempts to outline the evidence for Middle and Late Formative-period foreign interaction in two regions of the Guatemalan Highlands: the Valley of Guatemala and the Quiché Basin. Although the available evidence remains limited, it is used to examine the role that external contacts may have played in the cultural development of these two areas.