Here, a priest holds an incense bag and scatters seeds while chanting or singing. He wears many symbols of his power and prestige, from his quetzal feather headdress to the large jade beads hung around his neck. Both quetzal feathers and uncarved jade were symbolic of nature’s fertility and were prized for their vibrant colors. These luxury goods came to Teotihuacan, in central Mexico, from Guatemala and are evidence of the complex and wide-reaching trade networks that blanketed the Americas in the first millennia CE. This mural fragment comes from what was once the most densely populated city of the Americas, Teotihuacan. The city boasted between 100,000–200,000 inhabitants at its height (500–550 CE) and attracted people from various cultural groups across Mesoamerica.