Similar
Scarab Inscribed with a Geometric Pattern
China, 19th-20th century - Thumb Ring - 1947.549 - Cleveland Museum of Art
Roman Glass mosaic inlay fragment
Nishapur Khurasan Beads, Iran - Public domain museum image. A green and black stone sitting on top of a table
China, 19th-20th century - Thumb Ring - 1947.550 - Cleveland Museum of Art
Fingerring av guld med smaragder och briljanter, 1700-tal - Hallwylska museet - 110183
Bead LACMA M.86.311.38.c
Chinese Sample of Fluorspar - Public domain museum image. A piece of rock with a label on it
Related
Calima - Emerald Bead - Walters 2009209 - View A
Mayan - Figural Pendant - Walters 2009206 - View B
Mayan - Dwarf Figurine - Walters 20092036 - View A
Mayan - Face Pendant - Walters 2009208 - View A
Syrian - Beaker - Walters 4717 - View B
Mayan - Lidded Vessel - Walters 20092039 - View A
Mayan - Incense Burner - Walters 20092057 - Front View B
Aztec - Knotted Rattlesnake - Walters 292 - View B
Apis Bull - Walters 481747 - View B
Calima - Emerald Bead - Walters 2009209 - View B
Summary
Exotic commodities were coveted throughout ancient Colombia by those enjoying elevated social and political status. Rare items, made so by their scarcity, their having come from a long distance, or unusual physical properties such as color or transparency, signified the owner's control over resources and people. Some commodities also exemplified mythical or spiritual properties and thus were particularly potent possessions to be displayed as emblems of status and power. Emeralds come from the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes Mountains, which dominate western Colombia, the region divided south-to-north by the impressive Magdalena River. Emeralds' scarcity, rich and transparent green color, and symbolic association with fertility transformed the stone into a potent object of prestige and authority. Beads made from lightly worked emeralds, many of considerable size, adorned the bodies of important individuals throughout Colombia and were coveted among other societies in Panama and Costa Rica, a few even finding their way as far north as Mesoamerica.
Mesoamerican civilizations were a group of ancient cultures that inhabited Central and South America, including parts of modern-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. The Mesoamerican civilization is known for its advanced and sophisticated cultures, which developed complex systems of writing, art, architecture, and science. The Mesoamerican civilization is generally considered to have begun around 2500 BC and to have reached its peak between AD 600 and AD 900. The Mesoamerican civilization is known for its impressive achievements, including the development of the Maya and Aztec cultures, which are among the most well-known of the ancient Mesoamerican cultures. Aboriginal American Indian cultures that evolved in Mesoamerica (part of Mexico and Central America) and the Andean region (western South America) prior to Spanish exploration and conquest in the 16th century. The pre-Columbian civilizations were extraordinary developments in human society and culture, ranking with the early civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China. Like the ancient civilizations of the Old World, those in the New World were characterized by kingdoms and empires, great monuments and cities, and refinements in the arts, metallurgy, and writing; the ancient civilizations of the Americas also display in their histories similar cyclical patterns of growth and decline, unity and disunity.