One luxury good that the Olmec would have acquired through trade is jade. The Olmec civilization, which thrived in Mesoamerica from 1200 BCE to 400 BCE, had access to sources of jade in the Motagua River valley in present-day Guatemala. They would have traded for jade ornaments, carvings, and jewelry, which were highly prized for their aesthetic value and symbolic significance. Jade held a special cultural and spiritual significance for the Olmec, and it became a marker of elite status and power.
