First Page
3
ISSN
0843-5499
Last Page
12
Abstract
Jade was a material of paramount importance in ancient Maya life owing to its symbolic significance. The meanings of jade's color lent to the stone, and to those adorned with objects fashioned from it, an unmistakable aura of power. As a result, jade objects figure very prominently in the archaeological record, and their forms and contexts bespeak their ancient meanings. The tracing of the shapes, carving, production techniques, and use history of jades underscores the role of jade in Maya belief, political economy, and personal ornamentation.
Publisher Information
The Society of Bead Researchers is a non-profit scientific-educational corporation founded in 1981 to foster historical, archaeological, and material cultural research on beads and beadwork of all materials and periods, and to expedite the dissemination of the resultant knowledge. Membership is open to all persons involved in the study of beads, as well as those interested in keeping abreast of current trends in bead research.
Repository Citation
Pendergast, David M.
(1998).
"Dressed to Kill: Jade Beads and Pendants in the Maya Lowlands."
BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers
10: 3-12. Available at:
https://surface.syr.edu/beads/vol10/iss1/4
Included in
Archaeological Anthropology Commons, History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, Science and Technology Studies Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons