Mary Lou Ridinger (born 1945 in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

) is an American archaeologist. She holds a B.A. in

Latin American Studies Latin American studies (LAS) is an academic and research field associated with the study of Latin America. The interdisciplinary study is a subfield of area studies, and can be composed of numerous disciplines such as economics, sociology, histor ...

from the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...

and an M.A. in

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

from the University of the Americas After her graduate studies, Ridinger lived in

San Miguel de Allende San Miguel de Allende () is the principal city in the Municipalities of Mexico, municipality of San Miguel de Allende (municipality), San Miguel de Allende, located in the far eastern part of Guanajuato, Mexico. A part of the Bajío region, the t ...

, Mexico and worked on a number of archeological digs in the country, including the excavation preceding the construction of

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

's subway system. She is known for her discovery of

in-situ is a Latin phrase meaning 'in place' or 'on site', derived from ' ('in') and ' ( ablative of ''situs'', ). The term typically refers to the examination or occurrence of a process within its original context, without relocation. The term is use ...

jade quarry sites in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

that had been lost since the time of the

Spanish Conquest The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It ...

of the Americas, although a previous discovery of another in-situ jadeite quarry in Guatemala was made by others earlier in the mid 20th-century.

Discovery of Guatemalan Jade Sources

Ridinger may be widely regarded among scholars as the first archaeologist to discover the in-situ locations of the

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

jadeite Jadeite is a pyroxene mineral with composition Na Al Si2 O6. It is hard (Mohs hardness of about 6.5 to 7.0), very tough, and dense, with a specific gravity of about 3.4. It is found in a wide range of colors, but is most often found in shades ...

jade quarry areas. However, in 1952, the first documented discovery of in-situ jadeite in a pre-Columbian Maya jadeite quarry was made by Robert E. Leslie in the Motagua River valley near Manzanal, Guatemala, as documented in a 1955 publication co-authored by Leslie with William F. Foshag, who, at the time, was Head Curator of the Smithsonian Institution Department of Geology. In 1975, In partnership with her late husband Jay Ridinger, Mary Lou Ridinger discovered three distinct sources for jadeite in the

Motagua river The Motagua River () is a river in Guatemala. It rises in the Western Highlands of Guatemala and runs in an easterly direction to the Gulf of Honduras. The Motagua River basin covers an area of and is the largest in Guatemala. The Motagua Riv ...

valley of Guatemala, and also discovered tools and other indications that pre-Columbian Maya artisans had worked the material at the source site. In years that followed, Ridinger and her husband discovered new types of jade that had previously been unknown, uncovering in 1987 a dark colored jade with

pyrite The mineral pyrite ( ), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue ...

inclusions now dubbed "Galactic Jade" and followed in 1998 by the discovery of a lavender variety of jadeite.

Jade Enterprise in Guatemala

Jadeite crafts and jewelry is now a staple craft industry in Guatemala. In 1975, Mary Lou and Jay Ridinger opened Jades S.A., the first post-conquest jade workshop in the western hemisphere, and began training stone carvers to work with the very dense mineral. She is recognized by such organizations as

The Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904 and has served as a meeting point for ex ...

and the

Marquis Who's Who Marquis Who's Who, also known as A.N. Marquis Company ( or ), is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in A ...

as the founder of the modern jade business in Guatemala. Notable figures such as

President Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the attor ...

and actor

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the ...

have visited her business in

Antigua Guatemala Antigua Guatemala (), commonly known as Antigua or La Antigua, is a city in the Guatemalan Highlands, central highlands of Guatemala. The city was the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1543 through 1773, with much of its Baroque- ...

and commended her work. Jades S.A. is now frequently visited by foreign dignitaries as well as local government officials and houses a sizeable museum wing illustrating the history and timeline of the use of jadeite by the Maya and pre-Maya inhabitants of Central America.

Public Recognition

She has been featured in National Geographic (Sept 1987 Vol. 172 no.3), the Discovery channel (June 5, 1999, "The Mystery of Jade"), and numerous other publications and media appearances. She and her late husband Jay Ridinger's story has been featured in a recent book, Stone of Kings (2012) by Gerard Helferich.

Philanthropy

In 2008, upon a successful campaign to divert a highway project from running through portions of the

Izapa Izapa is a very large pre-Columbian archaeological site located in the Mexican state of Chiapas; it is best known for its occupation during the Late Formative period. The site is situated on the Izapa River, a tributary of the Suchiate River, ...

archeological site, Ridinger and her sister Georgeann Johnson founded The Maya Conservancy, a 501c non-profit organization with the stated mission "to aid in the preservation and protection of Maya and Pre-Maya archaeological sites throughout Central America and Mexico, in the preservation and conservation of Maya Cultural Heritage, and in educational guidance and financial assistance to private and governmental bodies in these countries." The Maya Conservancy has notable Maya scholars on its board, such as Dr. David Sedat from the Copan project and Dr. Robert Sitler.

References

External links

* Mary Lou Ridinger's Personal Website http://marylouridinger.com/ * Mary Lou Ridinger's Business Website http://www.jademaya.com * Mary Lou Ridinger's Philanthropic Website http://www.themayaconservancy.com * NY Times Mention https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/24/travel/a-mayan-past-a-latin-present-in-guatemala.html?pagewanted=2 * WSJ Review of Stone of Kings (Helferich 2012) https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203935604577066063066160448 * TEDx Talk http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/Maya-Cosmology-the-Real-2012-Ma;search%3Atag%3A%22TEDxSanMigueldeAllende%22 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ridinger, Mary Lou 1945 births People from Fort Worth, Texas American archaeologists Living people American women archaeologists