ABSTRACT
One of the great mysteries in Mesoamerican archaeology is the geological source of the “blue” jade often used by the Olmecs. Reconnaissance and research carried out over the last ten years reveals that translucent bluegreen jade was common in the middle Motagua region of eastern Guatemala. This chapter summarizes a survey project carried out in 2004 in Jalapa and Zacapa, Guatemala that discovered primary jade-working areas in the Río El Tambor region. Although evidence of Middle and Late Formative occupation was found in association with jade reduction zones, the majority of architecture and occupation in the area appears to date to the Late Classic. Since the rst documentation of jade sources by Robert Leslie at Manzanotal in 1952, it has been known that the central Motagua Valley of Guatemala is an important jadeite-bearing region (Foshag and Leslie 1955). Nevertheless, during the ensuing years there has been considerable debate concerning whether the Motagua Valley region was the only ancient source of jadeite in Mesoamerica and Central America. A number of researchers have argued that the translucent blue-green jadeite known for the Formative Olmec as well as ancient cultures of Costa Rica did not derive from the Motagua River region, but from some other distant area, such as Guerrero or Costa Rica (Coe 1968:100-103; Easby 1968:87; 1981:138; Grifn 1981:219; 1993:203; Hauff 1993:93; Paradis 1981:206). In addition, Ronald Bishop and colleagues have noted that the types of jadeite analyzed from artifacts and known sources are chemically and structurally too different to derive from a single source or region (Bishop et al. 1985; Bishop et al. 1991; Bishop and Lange 1993). Nonetheless, George Harlow (1993) has argued that due to the metamorphic process of creating jadeite, its chemical composition can vary greatly in a single region. According to Harlow, the types of jade known from ancient Mesoamerica may all have derived from a single area, the central Motagua Valley. As it turns out, both positions are probably correct, and it is now apparent that the jadebearing region in the Motagua area is far larger than originally thought. There are also many distinct sources in mountainous regions approximately 40 kilometers to either side of the middle Motagua Valley (Harlow et al. 2002; Seitz et al. 2001; Taube et al. 2004).
