Jade is a raw material that was used to make exotic luxury goods for royalty in prehistory throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas. Oddly enough, we modern sorts only recognize two of the many different green minerals as true jade: nephrite and jadeite. Jadeite is sometimes called "Mayan Jade", even though it was used throughout Mesoamerica, not just by the Maya.
Jadeite Mask of the Mayan King Pakal. Photo by CarlosVanVegas
In Mesoamerica, the Maya and other civilizations used jadeite quarried from at least one and perhaps as many as three sources to create fabulous greenstone luxury goods. An extreme example, by anyone's standards, is this jadeite mask from the tomb of Pakal the Great, found in the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque.
- Read all about Mayan Jade
- Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque
- Palace of Pakal the Great
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Pakal’s mask has recently been completely resorted (correctly) by Sofia Martinez del Campo Lanz, a specialist in restoration at Mexico’s National Musuem of Anthropology. It may be seen along with other Maya jade masks from places like Dzibanche, Calakmul, etc., in a fabulous exhibition that is tourisn Mexican provincial cities. The Pakal mask is featured in a new book titled Misterios de un Rostro Maya: La Mascara Funeraria de Kinich Janaab Pakal de Palenque, edited by Laura Filloy Nadal ISBN 978-607-484-132-9