Nephrite jade in New Zealand is known as in the Māori language and is highly valued, playing an important role in Māori culture. It is considered a , or treasure, and therefore protected under the Treaty of Waitangi. The exploitation of it is restricted to and closely monitored. The South Island of New Zealand is in Māori — 'The [land of] Greenstone Water' — because that is where it occurs. Weapons and ornaments are made of it; in particular the (short club) and the (neck pendant). These are believed to have their own (prestige), are handed down as valuable heirlooms, and often given as gifts to seal important agreements. It has also been used for a range of tools such as adzes and was used to make nails used in construction, as Māori had no metal before European contact. Commonly called "greenstone," jade jewellery in Māori designs is widely popular with tourists. Stone is often imported from Canada, China and Siberia, and runs a pounamu certification scheme to verify the authenticity of New Zealand stone. References Bale, Martin T. and Ko, Min-jung. Craft Production and Social Change in Mumun Pottery Period Korea. Asian Perspectives 45(2):159-187, 2006. Kostov, R. I. 2005. Gemmological significance of the prehistoric Balkan 'nephrite culture'. - Ann. Univ. Mining and Geology, 48, part 1, 91-94. Kostov, R. I. 2013. Nephrite-yielding prehistoric cultures and nephrite occurrences in Europe. - Hemus, 2, 11-30. Further reading Adamo, I., R. Bocchio. 2013. Nephrite jade from Val Malenco, Italy: review and update. – Gems & Gemology, 49, 2, 2-10. Beck, R. 1991. Jade in the South Pacific. New Zealand, Australia and New Caledonia. – In: Jade (Ed. Keverne, L.). Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 221-258. The Bishop Collection. Investigation and Studies in Jade (Ed. Kunz, G. F.). 1906. The Devinne Press, New York, Vol. 1-2, 570 p. Childs-Johnson, E., G. Fang. 2009. The Chinese Jade Age: Early Chinese Jades in American Museums. Science Press, Beijing, 403 p. (in Chinese and English) Darwent, J. 1998. The Prehistoric Use of Nephrite on the British Columbia Plateau. No. 25. Simon Fraser University, Department of Archaeology Press, Burnaby, 123 p. East Asian Jade: Symbol of Excellence. Vol. 1-3. (Ed. Tang, Ch.). 1998. Centre for Chinese Archaeology & Art, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Feng, X., Y. Zhang, T. Lu, H. Zhang. 2017. Characterization of Mg and Fe contents in nephrite using Raman spectroscopy.