The Mayan Style Lapidary Objects in Mesoamerica Outside the Maya Region: Provenance, Manufacture, Distribution, and Symbolism

Summary

Across Mesoamerica and outside the Maya Region, archaeologists have found different greenstone lapidary objects with glossy appearance and particular iconography and aesthetics that were considered as jadeite and crafted by the Maya. Unfortunately, their detailed analysis to confirm these assumptions is scarce. In this paper, we will show the study of Mayan style lapidary items from different sites, like Teotihuacan, Monte Albán, Teteles, Tula, Tamtoc, and Tenochtitlan. We employed Micro-Raman Spectroscopy, X-Ray Fluorescence, X-Ray Diffraction, and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy, to determine their chemical composition and mineralogical characteristics. These techniques allowed us to identify two raw materials, jadeite and green quartz from the Motagua Valley in Guatemala. Also, with technological analysis of their manufacturing traces, Experimental Archaeology and Scanning Electron Microscopy, these objects showed two patterns of manufacture that share the tools and techniques detected on Mayan jewelry, especially on jadeite pieces. Based on these results, we could infer the symbolism of these exotic greenstones in the burials and offerings outside the Maya Region as long-distance prestige goods for the elite members and powerful sacred items for the priests.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21897