gems, jade, pyroxene jade, fei cui, mesoamerica, Guatemala, Mexico, Aztec, Olmec

The Classic Maya center of Cancuén was first explored by Teobert Maler in 1905 and by Sylvanus Morley in 1915. The work of these explorers, together with the reconnaissance of the Harvard Seibal Project in 1967, identified Cancuén as the southernmost Classic Maya site on the Pasión River. Cancuén is located at the precise head of navigation of the Pasión River, along the natural trade and communication corridor formed by the Pasión/Usumacinta river system. It also lies at the interface between two economically and ecologically distinct regions: the volcanic highlands and the tropical lowlands of Guatemala. In addition to archaeological evidence for trade and the specialized production of prestige goods at Cancuén, the chemical characterization and sourcing of jade from the site may allow inferences regarding trade patterns, resource procurement strategies, and the control of these economic activities. Utilizing topographic, ethnohistoric, and ethnographic data, scholars such as Norman Hammond, Richard Adams, and Marie Charlotte Arnauld have defined the Pasión River valley as a major trade route linking the highlands and lowlands. Transport along this route may have involved porters carrying goods to the head of river navigation at Cancuén, after which they were transported downstream by canoe. The settlement pattern and topography of Cancuén suggest three different portage routes that may have served merchants and travelers as access points to the Pasión River. The first portage, located at the head of navigation, consists of a well-sheltered inlet just beyond the final rapids on the northern edge of the site’s epicenter, near the royal palace. Cancuén’s strategic location may have created opportunities for its inhabitants to specialize in the production and redistribution of high-status highland goods, such as jade, for exchange along the Pasión/Usumacinta route and throughout the Maya lowlands. Epigraphic evidence supports the existence of alliances and gift-giving relationships with powerful lowland kingdoms. During the Early Classic period, Cancuén maintained epigraphic and iconographic ties with Tres Islas, as well as with Teotihuacán and Tikal; later it was allied with Calakmul and Dos Pilas during the Middle Classic, and subsequently with Machaquilá in the Late Classic. These alliances shifted over time in response to changing balances of power in the lowlands. Royal control over the distribution and ceremonial gifting of prestige goods may have strengthened political relations with rulers of these lowland centers. Chemical characterization of artifacts can be an effective tool, when combined with archaeological evidence, for reconstructing trade relationships. In this case, compositional analyses of jade artifacts help investigate the nature of these interactions, as laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) has proven to be a productive and valuable technique for the chemical characterization of ancient Maya jade.