Treasure trove of jade stones used in Mayan rituals discovered in Guatemala

[Judi Lynn]

The greenstones are thought to have been used in ceremonies to establish a ruling class.
By Martha Henriques
May 30, 2017 12:20 BST


Polished greenstone objects made of jade and serpentine were discovered in Ceibal, Guatemala, dating from about 1000 to 450 BCE. The artefacts are elongated objects called celts, thought to have been used in public ceremonies.

The early years of the Mayan civilisation are relatively poorly understood. Many of the archaeological remains from this time have been buried by those of the later Mayans and by modern developments. A rare find in Ceibal, Guatemala, has led to new insights into the early Mayan culture.

A total of 18 cross-shaped holes in the ground called caches were discovered, with a total of 72 polished greenstone celts. This is the largest single find of celts in the Mayan lowlands dating from the era.

"Among the items highly prized by pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people were objects carved in hard greenstone. The polished greenstone celts from Ceibal were manufactured from jade, metagabbro, serpentine and other metamorphic greenstone," writes Kazuo Aoyama of Ibaraki University, Japan, who discovered the celts, in a paper in the journal Antiquity.

More:
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/treasure-trove-jade-stones-used-mayan-rituals-discovered-guatemala-1623929