Quantifying obsidian extraction at the Zaragoza-Oyameles source area of Puebla, Mexico and what this means for understanding ancient Mesoamerican economies

Summary

Typically overlooked in economic models of commodity production, distribution and consumption in Mesoamerica, is some discussion on the initial procurement of the materials that form the basis of the ancient economies we study. Significant cultural issues, such as labor coordination, territoriality, group identity, knowledge transmission and wealth, which are all wrapped up in a dynamic political and ideological milieu, are at play in the discrete geographical loci where material procurement occurs. Focusing on the procurement of obsidian at the Zaragoza-Oyameles source area in eastern Puebla, Mexico, I present quantitative data on the extent of raw material extraction and, where possible, the type and degree of early stage tool production at the source. Results of detailed topographic mapping of these extraction loci, and the analysis of intensive collections made from their surface, provide a fundamental base-line of data for all subsequent discussions on the role of obsidian in ancient Mesoamerican economies.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16940