An Obsidian Stone Tool Workshop at Cerro Baúl?: Wari Provincial Craft Production and Political Economy

Summary

Here we present a preliminary chaîne opératoire analysis of obsidian stone tools and associated debitage recovered from a single architectural compound at the site of Cerro Baúl. As the only known direct interaction sphere of the prehispanic Wari and Tiwanaku empires, research at Cerro Baúl in the Moquegua Valley, Peru offers a rare perspective of colonial encounters and intertwined political economies. During the 2015 excavation season we exposed a dense midden context consisting of various obsidian lithics, including large bifaces in the typical Wari style, projectile points, retouch flakes, and cores. Although previous researchers have recovered obsidian stone tools at Cerro Baúl, these have largely consisted of finished ritual objects bearing little sign of wear. This discovery is the first evidence of on-site obsidian lithic production. Our chaîne opératoire approach permits a closer look at elite production practices within the context of a potential Wari provincial obsidian workshop. Through this analysis, we highlight the trade networks and local craft specialization of an expansive prehispanic state situated in a colonial frontier.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Colonial Encounters in the Prehispanic Andes

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