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

Gutiérrez Solana examines the representation and symbolism of serpents in Mexica (Aztec) art, drawing principally on surviving sculpture and related iconographic evidence. She analyzes the physical characteristics used by Mexica artists to distinguish different serpent forms, including the rattlesnake, and develops a classification based on posture, attributes and associated imagery. Particular attention is given to the serpent’s relationships with water, fertility, sexuality and the earth, including its associations with deities such as Tláloc and Chalchiuhtlicue, as well as to feathered and supernatural serpent imagery. By comparing individual representations and their archaeological and religious contexts, the study demonstrates that serpent imagery did not possess a single fixed meaning but acquired different symbolic values according to its attributes and associations. Later iconographic studies continue to use Gutiérrez Solana’s classification of Mexica serpent representations.