Altica and the Role of Middlemen in Formative Obsidian Exchange

Summary

Altica’s location, in the Patlachique Range 10 km away from the Otumba obsidian source, suggests a potentially significant role in the distribution of Otumba obsidian. Altica may have served as an important middleman and processing site in Formative obsidian exchange, but a greater understanding of the nature of these exchange relationships is required to define this role. This paper combines geochemical sourcing and technological data from obsidian from nine Early and Middle Formative sites, including Altica, in order to reconstruct the movement of obsidian in this period. The intent of this study is to identify the sources and consumption sites, as well as the physical form in which obsidian was transported—in rough cores, macroblades, or finished products. In doing so, the paper will assess role that intermediary sites like Altica could have played in the processing and distribution of obsidian into downstream sites.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Altica: The Millennium before Teotihuacan   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16641