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

Many of the distinguished Maya jades now known appeared individually and without accompanying information, making it surprising that the familiar and beautiful “Ocosingo jades” at the American Museum of Natural History have never been studied as a group since E.G. Squier published them, along with engravings, nearly ninety years ago when they were in his possession. Most of these jades have not been photographed for publication, so the Museum has graciously rephotographed them for this volume (figs. 1 and 2). Given that they originate from an interesting site and represent a splendid sample of certain characteristic classes of Maya jades, they are well worth a second look in light of what has been learned about Maya archaeology since 1869.