Costa Rican jade tradition

Jadeite is presumed one of the most precious materials of Pre-Columbian Costa Rica. It, along with other similar looking greenstones ( ex. chalcedony, serpentine, and green jasper) were cherished and worked for years. Jadeite was used to decorate the body and was presumably a symbol of power.

There are three main periods in Costa Rican Jade Tradition, they correspond with the second half of Mid-Preclassic to Late Classic Periods in Mesoamerica.

The end of the jade tradition in Costa Rica corresponds with the beginning of gold work.

Jadeite rates between 6-7 on the Mohs scale of hardness, therefore making it extremely tough and time consuming to work because it was necessary to use minerals of equal or harder value. Abrasive powders made of these minerals were often used to carve into the material. Some of the main techniques used were pecking, drilling, sawing, carving, engraving and grinding. String sawing was a technique likely developed by Costa Rican lapidaries, in the northeastern region. This technique was done by sawing with a cord and a powdered abrasive. It was used to create curved slits openings, and by drilling a hole in the middle of a piece you could thread the cord through and create a hole. The final process was polishing.

Presumed patterns:

Most of the jade objects recorded are from looted context, but when found in situ the objects are primarily in graves. The bulk of Costa Rican jades contain drilled holes so they can be utilized to decorate the body in bead and pendant form. There are three main types of objects listed here.

1. Axe Gods: Generally these are stylized figure pendants that look like they were made from axes or celts. They are two-dimensionally decorated on the front with three main segments. The first is the top of the head to the top of the shoulders, where holes are drilled to suspend the object. The second is from the top of the shoulders to the bottom of the wings or arms. The third section is the blade of the pendant, it goes from the bottom of the wings or arms to the base, which consists of 30-40% of the entire pendant. There are two types of Axe god figurines, Avian and Anthropomorphic. The earliest known jade work is the Avian axe god celt found at the site of La Regla, dated at 500 BC.

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