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

This ornament of blue-green jade is carved into the shape of a spiral-tipped snail shell. The natural model for this jade carving was likely a tulip or spindle snail, scientifically belonging to the Fasciolariidae family of shells, a widespread mollusc that inhabits temperate to tropical saltwater environments. Two large, L-shaped holes are drilled into the longer side of the ornament, indicating that it was originally suspended, likely as a pendant from a necklace. In determining the shape of this shell pendant, the artist followed a vein of bright green jade within a lighter jade matrix. The upper central portion of the shell is a mottled, light blue-green. This contrasts with a thick, curved lens of more vibrant bright green that follows the contours of the shell’s lower half. The front face of the pendant is polished to a glossy, liquid shine. The back of the pendant, which would have rested against the wearer’s chest, is completely flat. Though smoothed and finished, it was left unpolished. The word jade, when used in Mesoamerican contexts, refers specifically to jadeite. Although this mineral occurs in a startling array of colours, the ancient Maya prized bright green and blue-green varieties most highly. All Mesoamerican jade comes from a single source, located in the Motagua River Valley of eastern highland Guatemala. Such a restricted point of access made jade a particularly rare and valuable material, an important element in elite trade networks and economic exchange systems in the ancient Maya world.