A Geochemical Look at Obsidian Procurement and Exchange in the Medio period World: A Case Study 76 Draw (LA 156980)

Summary

Geochemical provenance analysis of obsidian is a productive avenue for studying social interaction and lithic raw material procurement strategies in the U.S. Southwest. Here the results of the analysis of 180 obsidian artifacts recovered from 76 Draw, a Medio period (A.D.1200 to 1450) settlement in New Mexico are presented. The combined assemblage reflects local geochemical sources, as well as obsidian from more distant geochemical sources often seen in assemblages associated with the Ancestral Pueblo (Anasazi), the Salado people, and the Casas Grandes phenomenon during the mid-1300s. This assemblage was compared to lithic assemblages from the nearby Black Mountain site in southern New Mexico and Casas Grandes settlements in the Medio period core around Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico. Obsidian from sites in the Medio period core area geochemically matches sources in northern Chihuahua and northeastern Sonora, whereas the Black Mountain obsidian reflects greater reliance on the northern Mule Creek obsidian and other nearby sources. While inhabitants at 76 Draw likely had access to Mule Creek obsidian and associated sources through contact with bordering cultures, they maintained an active partnership in the Southern Network of procurement and exchange centered around obsidian sources from northern Chihuahua and the bootheel of New Mexico.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20313