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Concept
Costa Rican jade tradition
Summary
Jadeite is presumed one of the most precious materials of Pre-Columbian Costa Rica. It, along with other similar-looking greenstones (e.g. 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.
Beginning Period: 500 BC- 300 AD
Fluorescent Period: 300-900 AD
Decadent Period: 700-900 AD
The end of the jade tradition in Costa Rica corresponds with the beginning of gold work.
Jadeite rates between 6 and 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:
High-intensity: this pattern of jade working characterizes the jade objects that took the most time to complete, sometimes years. They were more time consuming in addition to being more elaborately decorated, with deeper incisions.
Low-intensity: this pattern was less time consuming and could be made of softer materials, greenstones that looked like jadeite. They were less valuable because they were made from local materials. It was socially motivated by the high-intensity pattern.
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.
Official source
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