The remarkable jade adze, generally known as the “Kunz adze,” was found in Oaxaca, Mexico, brought to the United States about 1890, and is now in the American Museum of Natural History, New York. Of a light greenish-gray hue, with a slight tinge of blue, this jade artefact is 272 mm. long (1013/16 inches), 153 mm. wide (6 inches) and 118 mm. thick (4⅝ inches); its weight is 229.3 Troy ounces, nearly sixteen pounds avoirdupois. Rudely, but not unskilfully, carved upon its face is a grotesque human figure. Four small, shallow depressions, one under each eye and one near each hand, may have served to hold in place small gold films, but no trace of gold decoration is now extant. In its mechanical execution this adze offers evidence of considerable skill on the part of the Aztec lapidary, the polish equalling that of modern workers. In the fact that a large piece, which must apparently have weighed at least two pounds, has evidently been cut out of this implement by some one of its Indian owners, we can see a proof of the talismanic power ascribed to jadeite in Aztec times, for there can be little doubt that nothing less than a belief in the great virtue of jadeite coupled with the rarity of the material could have induced the mutilation of what must have been regarded in its time as a remarkable work of art.[377]
The source of the prehistoric jade (nephrite and jadeite) found in Europe, and also of that worked into ornaments by the Indians before the Spanish Conquest of America, was long the subject of contention among mineralogists and archæologists. In Germany this question was denominated the Nephritfrage, and the most notable contribution to the discussion was the great scientific and scholarly work issued by Heinrich Fischer.[378] His conclusion was that as there was no evidence of the existence of these minerals outside of a few localities in Asia, the European and American supply must have been brought to these parts of the world from Asia, and that hence the presence of these jade artefacts in America clearly pointed to commercial intercourse at an early period between the American continent and Asia, and might be regarded as offering a strong argument in favor of an Asiatic origin for an American civilization. According to this theory the prehistoric jade objects found in Europe must have had a similar source, and would constitute a proof of the existence of traffic with remote points in Asia at a date long previous to that commonly accepted.
This view was strongly opposed by Prof. A. B. Meyer, of Dresden, and recent discoveries have effectively disproved the theory in the case of Europe at least, for nephrite has been found there in situ in several places. The largest mass of this material that has been taken from a European deposit is that found by the writer at Jordansmühl in Silesia, in April, 1899, and which weighed 4704 pounds.[379] The origin of American jade in the forms of nephrite and jadeite has not yet been definitely determined, but we have every reason to suppose that deposits of these minerals will eventually be discovered in various parts of the American continent, as they have already been in Europe. Indeed, the existence of nephrite in Alaska is already well attested.
The peculiar and characteristic qualities of these substances have made them favorite materials for ornamental objects from the earliest ages down to our own day, and in almost all parts of the world. A most important element contributing to the popularity of jade has been its supposed possession of wonderful talismanic and therapeutic virtues, and while the Western world has not the same belief in these matters as the Eastern world, a more or less definite appreciation of what jade still signifies for many in the Orient, continues to exercise an influence over both Americans and Europeans, making objects of nephrite or jadeite highly prized everywhere at the present time.
The term chalchihuitl was indifferently applied by the ancient Mexicans to a number of green or greenish-white stones; quetzal chalchihuitl, which was regarded as the most precious variety, may perhaps have more exclusively denoted jadeite. This is somewhat indefinitely described by Sahagun as being “white, with much transparency, and with a slight greenish tinge, something like jasper.” Of eight ornamental objects of green stone examined some years ago by the writer, four were of jadeite, one of serpentine, another of green quartz, and the remaining two of a mixture of white feldspar and green hornblende. An inferior kind of chalchihuitl, said by Sahagun to have come from quarries in the vicinity of Tecalco, appears to have been identical with the so-called “Mexican onyx” which is found in veins in that place and is an aragonite stalagmite. This material, from which figures, ornaments and beads were made by the ancient Mexicans, is to-day greatly valued as an ornamental stone.
The greater number of ancient Mexican jadeite beads appear to have been rounded pebbles of this material, assorted as to size and drilled for use in making necklaces. Other green stones used at this time in Mexico were green jasper, green plasma, serpentine and also the “Tecalco onyx” or “marble” above mentioned. In many cases these substances are of such rich green that they might easily be mistaken for jadeite by those who lacked the tests or the experience at the command of modern mineralogists. Should jadeite ever be found in situ in Mexico, it seems probable that the discovery will be made in the State of Oaxaca, whence came the finest ancient specimens, including the splendid votive adze. Moreover, one of the few materials by which jadeite can be worked is furnished by the streams of this region, whence have been taken several rolled pebbles which the writer has identified as yellow and blue corundum, the quality being equal to that of specimens from Ceylon.[380]
Gesner describes one of the lip ornaments worn by the aborigines of South America in the following words:[381]
A green stone or gem which the inhabitants of the West Indies use. They pierce their lips and insert this stone so that the thicker part adheres to the hole and the rest protrudes. We might call these ornaments oripenduli [mouth-pendants]. This stone was given me by a learned Piedmontese, Johannes Ferrerius, and he wrote of it as follows: “I send a cylindrical green stone, as long as a man’s middle finger, and having at one extremity two ridges. It is stated that the Brazilians of high rank wore these, from their youth, in their pierced lips; one or more being worn according to the dignity of the wearer. While eating, or whenever they so wish for any other reason, these ornaments are removed from the lips.”
Similar ornaments, made of a green quartz and of beryl, are in the Kunz collection in the Field Museum of Chicago.
The reason for these strange mutilations, which often cause serious discomfort to those who practice them, is not at all easy to determine. Some have conjectured that by the insertion of bright, colored objects in the ears, nose and lips, members of the same tribe were enabled to recognize each other at a distance; each tribe having selected a particular color. However, although certain local preferences are shown in the matter of color or material, there is no hard and fast rule in this matter, and frequently neighboring tribes will employ stones or shells of the same or similar hue and appearance. Others find in this custom a religious significance and suppose that the mutilation represents a form of sacrifice to the spirits, good or bad, who must be rendered favorable to man by some act on his part showing his unconditional submission to them. Originating in this way the idea of adornment was a secondary impulse. It is a fact that ancient peoples regarded the wearing of ear-rings as a badge of slavery, and, according to a Rabbinical legend, Eve’s ears were pierced as a punishment for her disobedience, when she was driven from the Garden of Eden.