Obsidian Exchange and Use in Early Formative Chalcatzingo

Author(s): Nadia Johnson

Year: 2018

Summary

In the Middle Formative, Chalcatzingo was one of Highland Mexico’s dominant settlements. At its peak, Chalcatzingo had a well-developed obsidian blade technology and established lines of trade with the Gulf Coast. Chalcatzingo’s role in the exchange of obsidian in earlier periods is less well understood. This paper combines geochemical sourcing and technological analysis of an Early Formative obsidian assemblage from Chalcatzingo in order to elucidate this role. Geochemical sourcing enables a better understanding of the exchange routes maintained by the emerging site, prior to its florescence, while analysis of lithic technology may reveal how blade technology arrived in Chalcatzingo, and the form in which obsidian was transported.

Cite this Record

Obsidian Exchange and Use in Early Formative Chalcatzingo. Nadia Johnson. Presented at The 82nd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Washington, DC. 2018 ( tDAR id: 443161)

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Keywords

General
Archaeometry & Materials Analysis: XRF/pXRF • Formative • Political economy

Geographic Keywords
Mesoamerica: Central Mexico

Spatial Coverage

min long: -107.271; min lat: 18.48 ; max long: -94.087; max lat: 23.161 ;

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22731