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Blue jade refers to the mineral jadeite that has undergone lapidary work, and is primarily associated with the Olmec culture of the Formative Period in Mesoamerica. Blue jadeite gets its color when chemical substitutions of iron transform the otherwise white mineral into various ranges of blue and green.[1] They form under the conditions of relatively low heat and high pressure in subduction zones[2], and in the case of Mesoamerica, are currently thought to develop along the faults of the Motagua River Valley. It is harder than its nephrite counterpart, but less durable as well.[3]

While the Olmec culture is known for having sculpted colossal heads from basalt, they are also known for having made ornaments, celts, and statuettes from jade. These jade artifacts were fashioned (using abrasives)[4] under what archaeologists refer as the Olmec art style, which designate a recognizable artistic trend in artifacts found throughout different regions. However, as some archaeologists have cautioned, the concept of what is Olmec remains under contention, as archaeologists like Michael D. Coe suggest, the development of Olmec culture may have involved the exchange of knowledge and materials between multiple peoples and not independently.[5] Regardless, the most-prominent features seen in the blue jade artifacts include, figures having almond-shaped eyes, flared noses, and grimacing mouths.

Examples of Blue Jade[edit]

The Standing Figure at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington D.C. is a Middle Formative statuette made from light-blue jadeite that shows conventions in the Olmec style. Aside from the conventions in its facial features, it resembles an infant, by virtue of having a large head and short limbs. According to Karl A. Taube, the figure represents a deity (i.e., God IV) and also resembles a personified celt, similarly to that of the Kunz Axe.[6] However, unlike the Kunz Axe, the base is flattened, which allows it to stand freely.

The Fragmentary Figure (Bust with Long Hair) at Dumbarton Oaks is an intricately-crafted bust of an individual associated with the Middle Formative Period that had been subsequently removed from its body. The bust is 6.6 cm in height, and is made of soft-blue jadeite with white flecks.[7] According to Elizabeth P. Benson, the figure is likely to be a portrait.[8] However, the identity of the figure is unknown. Depending on the lighting and angle, the figure has been interpreted as either a “singing woman” or an “assertive male.”[9] A prominent feature of this bust is its detailed depiction of shoulder-length hair, which is parted in the center and delineated with striations that run along the sides.

The Celt with Carved Elaborately Dressed Ruler Holding Bloodletter at the Museo de Antropología in Xalapa is a blue-green jade celt that includes a low relief of an Olmec ruler in costume. He is depicted wearing a tall headdress, skirt, feathered cape, and holds a bloodletter in his left hand. The ruler is portrayed both frontally and in profile. Other motifs include the depiction of the maize god, bird monster, sun god, and maize itself (seen in the shape of the celt itself and the depiction of sprouting maize on the headdress).

According to Elizabeth Benson, this celt is significant in that it provides insight about the Olmec’s view of the world.[10] According to her, Olmec rulers offered their blood to balance energy in the cosmos.[11] The ruler also had the duty of ensuring agricultural fertility, as evidenced by the repeating motifs that represent maize.[12]

Source of Blue Jade[edit]

The source(s) of blue jade that the Olmecs used remain unknown, as that knowledge became lost with the disappearance of Olmec culture at around 500 B.C.[13] While it has been established that the Motagua River Valley is a key source for Mesoamerican jade, scholars continue to debate whether it was the sole source or whether there were multiple sources.

Archaeologists like Matthew Stirling or Michael Coe have suggested that there are no quarries where a source exists in situ.[14] Rather, jadeite tend to be found in pebbles or alluvial boulders.

Other explanations for the lack of known jadeite sources have been brought up by Elizabeth Easby, who posited that blue jadeite may have been potentially destroyed by volcanism. Or, as Karl Taube suggested, they may have been depleted in antiquity.[15]

In 2001, an expedition identified a possible source for 'Olmec blue' jade in the middle Motagua Valley.[16]

Contribution to Archaeology[edit]

Elizabeth Benson has described the merit in the archaeological study of Olmec portable jade carvings, which may provide answers to the origins, geographic distribution, and populations that constitute the Olmecs.[17] She addressed the questions of whether or not the Southern Gulf Coast Olmec (or as some consider the principal Olmec culture) attempted to religiously proselytize outsiders, conquer them, or traded with them, in lieu of the more prolific belief that the Olmecs served as a “mother culture,” who shaped the development of other societies.[18] According to her, she believed that the Gulf Coast Olmec contributed a lesser role than originally thought.[19]

Problematic Issues in the Archaeological Study of the Olmecs[edit]

According to Benson, the best examples of Olmec carvings were not acquired through controlled excavations that are essential in archaeological study. Hence, there is a lack of contextual evidence with these artifacts.

Another problem she addressed include the fact that Olmec-style carvings have been discovered along non-Olmec artifacts, which Benson gave the example of caches in Cerro de las Mesas and Chacsinkin in the Yucatan. Benson posited that such artifacts may have been exchanged and redeposited at later periods.[20]

Controversy[edit]

In 2002, the New York Times misrepresented the findings of a team of U.S. scientists with the claim that they had found a lode of blue jade (jadeite) the size of Rhode Island in a protected area in Guatemala. Philip Juarez-Paz, Director of Mining from the Ministry of Energy and Mines in Guatemala, described his fear that the article would mislead people into looking for the material in an area that is protected, where there is little to none. Moreover, according to him, blue jadeite is usually found in isolated pieces that are carried through rivers, rather than found in veins.[21]

Commercial Enterprise[edit]

Jay and Mary Lou Ridinger are an American couple who moved, with their children, to Guatemala in 1973.[22] Coinciding with Mary Lou’s interest in archaeology at the time, they began searching for the missing sources of jade that ancient Mesoamerican cultures might have used. In 1974, they were able to locate a source of jade and subsequently formed a business that revitalized the Guatemalan jade industry after close to 500 years.[23] Their business revolves around employing locals to collect and make jadeite into jewelry.[24] While they ventured into a commercial enterprise with jade, they are nonetheless credited as early re-discoverers of blue jade, and are nonetheless experts in their respective field.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Coe 1995, p. 124
  2. ^ Coe 1995, p. 124
  3. ^ Taube 2004, p. 19
  4. ^ Benson 1996, p. 120
  5. ^ Coe 1995, p. 49
  6. ^ Coe 1995, p. 124
  7. ^ Taube 2004, p. 100-101
  8. ^ Taube 2004, p. 100-101
  9. ^ Taube 2004, p. 100-101
  10. ^ Benson 1996, p. 269-271
  11. ^ Benson 1996, p. 271
  12. ^ Benson 1996, p. 271
  13. ^ Benson 1996, p. 120
  14. ^ Helferich 2012, p. 50
  15. ^ Taube 2004, p. 209-210
  16. ^ Seitz, R., G.E. Harlow, V.B. Sisson, K.E. Taube (2001) ‘Olmec Blue’ and Formative Jade Sources: New Discoveries in Guatemala. Antiquity 75(290): 687-688.
  17. ^ Benson 1996, p. 119
  18. ^ Benson 1996, p. 119
  19. ^ Benson 1996, p. 119
  20. ^ Benson 1996, p. 119
  21. ^ Horowitz 2004, p. 5
  22. ^ Horowitz 2004, p. 7-8
  23. ^ Horowitz 2004, p. 7-8
  24. ^ Horowitz 2004, p. 7-8

References[edit]

  • Benson, Elizabeth (1996). Olmec Art of Ancient Mexico. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art.
  • Coe, Michael (1995). The Olmec World: Ritual and Rulership. Princeton, NJ: The Art Museum, Princeton University.
  • Helferich, Gerard (2012). Stone of Kings: In Search of the Lost Jade of the Maya. Lyons Press.
  • Horowitz, Nathan (2004). Blue Jade Fever: Scientists and Shamans Romance a Mystical Stone, Mesoweb, 1(11).
  • Lange, F.W., ed. Precolumbian Jade: New Geological and Cultural Interpretations. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
  • Seitz, R., G.E. Harlow, V.B. Sisson, K.E. Taube (2001) ‘Olmec Blue’ and Formative Jade Sources: New Discoveries in Guatemala. Antiquity 75(290): 687-688.
  • Taube, Karl (2004). Olmec Art at Dumbarton Oaks. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.

External Links[edit]

Jade Maya - Company founded by Jay and Mary Lou Ridinger

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