A Comparison of XRF and Visual Sourcing Methods in the Identification of Guadalupe Victoria Obsidian at Matacanela, Sierra de los Tuxtlas

Summary

Several Pre-Classic assemblages in the Mesoamerican Gulf lowlands are characterized by obsidian from the Guadalupe Victoria source. Tools produced are characterized by flake-core reduction strategies. The combined visual characteristics of the source material and technology employed are important chronological indicators. But, general similarities in the appearance of the raw material and factors such as variable thickness create the potential for overlap with other sources, such as Pico de Orizaba, though the latter tends to have fewer inclusions, making it more suitable for the production of prismatic blades than Guadalupe Victoria obsidian. Thus, the presence of clear-to-light-gray material in flake form is typically assigned to the Guadalupe Victoria source, whereas clear-to-light-gray material in blade form is often attributed to Pico de Orizaba. The presence of clear-to-light gray material in flake form throughout the occupational sequence of Pre-Classic and Classic period Matacanela challenged existing ideas about the efficacy of visual designation. As a result, we used pXRF to examine the entire assemblage of visually sourced Guadalupe Victoria material from excavated contexts to evaluate our accuracy in predicting source material. We present these findings, and offer suggestions for refinements of the analysis of materials and interaction patterns in the southern Gulf lowlands.

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): 20253