Jade: An Indicator Of Trans-Pacific Contact?

Abstract

Jade: An Indicator Of Trans-Pacific Contact? Jerry Towle* The few scholars who have attempted a balanced, rational evaluation of evidence for pre-Columbian contacts between the Old and the New World generally admit that some characteristics of American civilization are not easily explained by local invention. At a superficial level, at least, what may be called the jade complex of the New World is one of these characteristics. Advanced jade carving techniques appeared in Mexico with no evidence of local evolution; from a culture base in which the lapidary arts were virtually nonexistent arose Olmec jade artists who as early as 1000 B.C. displayed a technical proficiency equalling that of China.1 Though it is not the purpose of this investigation to evaluate the importance of trans-oceanic contact in stimulating American cultural development, jade carving is linked with the Olmec, the earliest high culture of Mesoamerica. This trait has parallels not only in Asia but also appeared in the New World at a critical juncture in history.2 While no one claims that artistry in jade is an indispensable stimulus to civilization, it is part of a culture complex that gave rise to great ß Mr. Towle is an Assistant Professor of Geography at California State University , Fresno, 93710. He was a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Oregon when this paper was first presented at the 1971 annual meeting of the Association at Victoria. 1 Matthew Stirling, "The Olmecs: Artists in Jade," in Samuel Lothrop, ed., Essays in Pre-Columbian Art and Architecture, Cambridge, 1961, p. 43. 2 Philip Phillips, "The Role of Transpacific Contacts in the Development of New World Civilizations," in Robert Wauchupe, ed., Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. 4, Austin, 1966, pp. 304. 165 166ASSOCIATION OF PACIFIC COAST GEOGRAPHERS ceremonial centers and to the beginning of a religious system that may have been the source of all subsequent high cultures of Mexico.3 The Jade Complex Use of jade as a raw material may be called a culture trait. When the material becomes associated with ritual observance and is the subject of myth or when it is arbitrarily valued above similar materials , a number of traits relating to its use become joined in a culture complex. From archaeological inference to written records of early European observers, it appears that jade was a prized commodity in Maya and in Aztec culture as well as in Olmec. Written accounts deal only with the Aztec period but attest to the exceptional value placed on jade. A relatively small chalcahui was more valuable than a load of gold.4 One of the earliest chronicles of New Spain quoted a native father describing his daughter as "precious as a chalchihuitl."6 Similes involving jade abound; perhaps significantly both the Chinese and Mexicans may say: "He has a heart of jade" in reference to a highly esteemed person.6 In general, comparisons of jade with the good, the beautiful, and the divine are common in Mexico and China. Was the prizing of jade an arbitrary trait? Certainly it has a scarcity value, but this alone does not explain its exceptionally high status. Emerald is at least as rare as jade in Mexico yet seems to have been much less esteemed. Nor does jade lend itself well to carving. Both jadeite and nephrite are hard minerals, 6.25 to 7.0 Mohs, and both have fibrous structures making them difficult to fracture. Nephrite , the jade of early China, is especially liable to show a splinter fracture with no plane of cleavage.7 It seems that Mexico and China were unique in having artists able to make a plastic medium of this refractory material. Though jade was highly regarded in other parts of the Pacific world, a combination of high technical proficiency and 3 Michael Coe, Mexico, New York, 1962, pp. 82-100. 4 Bernardo Diaz del Castillo, The True History of the Conquest of Mexico, New York, 1927, p. 86. 5 Elsie Ruf, 'The Jade Story," The Lapidary Journal, Vol. 14, No. 5 (December , 1960), p. 315. ß Stirling, op. cit., p. 43. 7 John Goetle, Jade Lore, n.d., New York, p. 29. YEARBOOK · VOLUME 35 · 1973167 mystical regard...