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

gems, jade, pyroxene jade, fei cui, guatemala, Mesoamerica, Nicaragua, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, archaeogemology, Mayan design, aesthetics, Olmec, Aztec, Guatemala, archaeology, lapidary, Teotihuacan

An analysis of fine stone and shell materials from Teotihuacan was undertaken to define the nature and organization of the city’s lapidary industry. More than 8,000 artefacts and manufacturing remains composed of jadeite, serpentine, slate, other fine stones and a wide variety of Atlantic and Pacific shell species were examined. These materials, recovered by the University of Rochester’s Teotihuacan Mapping Project, included complete and fragmentary beads, pendants, figurines and other ornaments, as well as small and minute waste fragments produced during manufacture. All specimens were identified and analysed both microscopically and macroscopically, and the resulting data were recorded in a computerized database. Three lines of evidence were used to investigate lapidary production at Teotihuacan. First, materials from a suspected workshop district were analysed to determine whether it had indeed functioned as a lapidary barrio. Second, lapidary materials recovered from twenty-seven test excavations were studied for evidence of production activities and for information regarding the use of fine stones and shells in a variety of contexts throughout the city. Third, materials from surface collections across all sectors of Teotihuacan were examined to identify patterns in the distribution and use of lapidary materials and to locate areas where high concentrations of manufacturing debris might indicate workshop activity. The results confirmed that lapidary workshops were concentrated in a barrio on the northeastern edge of the city, as earlier investigators had suspected. This district appears to have produced lapidary objects intended for the middle strata of Teotihuacan society and has therefore been interpreted as a barrio of local workshops. Additional local workshops may also have existed elsewhere within the city. Although the state probably controlled the flow of raw materials into these workshops, direct state control over production itself appears to have been limited. A second, more specialized level of lapidary production was also identified. Workshops located adjacent to major temple and pyramid precincts seem to have operated under the supervision of temple or palace authorities and produced luxury goods intended for the upper levels of society. The study further explored the symbolic significance of fine stones and shells as materials associated with fertility, abundance and prestige. Notably, it demonstrated that images of jadeite were employed as a form of glyphic notation in Teotihuacan mural painting, underscoring the cultural and ideological importance of jade within Teotihuacan society.

gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui, Mesoamerica, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mayans, Olmecs, Aztecs, archaeology, history, archaeogemology

gems, early lapidaries, early gemology, early mineralogy, Albertus Magnus, Marbode

Haefele examines textual and interpretive problems surrounding Marbod of Rennes’ Liber lapidum (Lapidarius), the influential medieval Latin poem on the properties and powers of stones. The study concentrates especially on the prologue and the poem on coral, using these passages to clarify Marbod’s conception of the occult and medicinal powers attributed to stones and aspects of the work’s textual tradition. Haefele also addresses the proposed connection between Marbod’s Lapidarius and the Macer Floridus, rejecting the suggestion that Marbod authored the latter on linguistic, stylistic and conceptual grounds.

gems, archaeology, archaeogemology, Mediterranean, Ptolemaic-Roman, Red Sea, Egypt, Greece, Greek, glyptic, technology

gems, gemology, gem identification, gem property tables

alexandrite, Brazil, gems

Gübelin reports on the newly discovered Hematita alexandrite deposit in Minas Gerais, Brazil, discovered in 1987 and notable for producing unusually fine and relatively clean material. He describes the appearance and gemological characteristics of the alexandrite, including its pronounced color change from greenish hues in daylight to reddish or purplish red under incandescent illumination. Particular attention is given to internal features useful for identifying the Brazilian material. Among the characteristic mineral inclusions subsequently identified in Hematita alexandrite are fluorite and apatite, together with mica and fluid inclusions. The discovery was significant because Hematita rapidly became an important source of fine alexandrite at a time when supplies from the traditional Russian and Sri Lankan sources were limited.

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.

gems, beryl, emerald, inclusions, Brazil

beryl, synthetic beryl, emerald, USSR, gems

Lind, Henn and Bank examine 50 hydrothermally grown synthetic emeralds produced in the USSR, describing their gemological properties and diagnostic features. The material has SG 2.68–2.70, refractive indices nω 1.578–1.584 and nε 1.571–1.581, and birefringence 0.005–0.008. Microscopic characteristics include conspicuous zonal growth structures and growth tubes extending from black hexagonal platelets. The authors supplement conventional gemological testing with absorption spectroscopy and chemical analysis, including X-ray fluorescence and electron-microprobe methods, to characterize the material and provide criteria for distinguishing these Soviet hydrothermal synthetics from natural emeralds.