Even the priests of the ancient Mayans argued that jadeite is not just a beautiful stone, but a mineral with incredible magical properties. The Aztecs held the same opinion, who valued it on a par with gold, and in China it is still considered a sacred ritual stone.
West and East in the history of jadeite
In the Stone Age, scrapers, knives, and spear tips were made from jade. Archaeologists have found this out.
Neolithic jadeite axes
In Europe, the stone was “advertised” by conquistadors who visited America. The stones were brought as medicinal ones. But there were specimens that simply asked to be used as rings, beads, or earrings.
The emperors of the Celestial Empire and the Land of the Rising Sun used jadeite wherever possible. Stone dishes, jewelry, pillows (head cushions), even jadeite baths. All this was to .
On the opposite side of the globe, in the jungles of South America, the aborigines made ritual objects, jewelry for priests and the aristocracy, and ordinary hatchets for work from jadeite. Jade (both jade and jadeite) was valued by the Indians more than gold. It was a cult stone.
Another unusual use of jadeite. In Belize, in a museum, there is a jaw exhibited, the teeth of which are inlaid with jadeite. Moreover, the operation was performed on a living woman. Moreover, the lady was already over 80 years old, and her teeth were in perfect order.
origin of name
Fei-chui and cosmochlor jade, yin-yu and jade, omphacite jade are all names of jadeite.
The mineral received its name from the French mineralogist A. Demur. And this was in 1863. Before this, jadeite and jade were called the same word “jad”. By the way, in English-language literature both minerals are called that way. There is nothing surprising, the minerals are very similar
