Rodríguez-Rellán Carlos, Nelson Ben A., Fábregas Valcarce Ramón (eds.) A Taste for Green: A global perspective on ancient jade, turquoise and variscite exchange

Oxbow Books, 2020. — 192 p.Often along vast expanses, ancient societies traded certain commodities that were considered valuable either for functional or symbolic reasons – or, rather, a mixture of both factors. A Taste for Green addresses latest research into the acquisition of jade, turquoise or variscite, all of which share a characteristic greenish color and an engaging appearance once they are polished in the shape of axes or assorted adornments. Papers explore how, in addition to constituting economic transactions, the transfess of these materials were also statements of social liaisons, personal capacities, and relation to places or to unseen forces.The volume centers on two study areas, Western Europe and México/Southwest US, which are far apart not just in geographical terms but also with regard to their chronology and socioeconomic features. While some North and Mesoamerican groups range from relatively complex farming societies up to state-like organizations during the 1st and 2nd millennia AD, the European counterparts are comparatively simpler polities spanning the 5th–3rd millennia BC. By contrasting the archaeological evidence from diverse areas we may gain insights into the role that production/movement of these green stones played in their respective political and ritual economies. Also, we think it useful to compare the scientific approaches applied to this question in different parts of the globe, specially Asia.Carlos Rodríguez-Rellán obtained his PhD at the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela where he is a post-doctoral researcher specialising in lithic technologies, experimental archaeology and late prehistoric rock art.Ben A. Nelson is professor of anthropology at Arizona State University. His research focuses on cycles of social complexity and connectivity among the ancient cultures of northwestern Mexico and the American Southwest, especially from A.D. 200-1540.Ramón Fábregas Valcarce is professor of Prehistory at the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela and is a specialist in the lithic industry of the late prehistory of Northwestern Iberia.