Developing a New Methodology for Sourcing Calcite and Quartz Crystals

Summary

Quarts and calcite crystals are used by shamans throughout Mesoamerica for divination. Ethnographic accounts mention shamans who, lacking actual crystals, use pieces of broken glass. This suggests that crystals may not occur in all areas so that crystals could have been actively traded in Pre-Columbian times. Testing this hypothesis requires developing a methodology for sourcing quarts and calcite crystals using trace elements incorporated into the crystal matrix during growth. So far as we know, this has not been previously attempted. This paper presents the results of tests using a number of sourcing techniques run on crystals recovered riverine sands in the Cueva de Río Murciélagos, Dos Pilas against crystals from other areas. We hope to apply this methodology to the Maya area.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Recent Advances in the Archaeology of the Three Rivers Region of the Central Maya Lowlands

Keywords

Spatial Coverage