Feature Gems & Gemology, Fall 2000, Volume 36, No. 3

Pre-Columbian Gems and Ornamental Materials from Antigua, West Indies

A. Reg Murphy, David J. Hozjan, and Christy N. deMille, Alfred A. Levinson

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Two archeological sites that were discovered recently on the island of Antigua appear to have had flourishing lapidary industries. Excavation of these sites, which date to about 250–500 AD (Saladoid period), has revealed beads, pendants, and “zemis” made from a variety of materials, with shell being the most abundant. All of the unworked materials (e.g., shell, carnelian, and diorite) are of local origin. However, amethyst, nephrite, serpentine, and turquoise were found only as finished gems; these are not local and imply that trade or exchange existed between Antigua and other parts of the Caribbean and possibly the Americas during Saladoid time.