Multifunctional Obsidian Blades: Exploring Use-Wear of Maya Blades from the Quiché Basin, Guatemala

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Use-wear analysis is a valuable method for understanding the various functions of stone tools, a central concern in lithic analysis. This poster focuses on the results of a use-wear study of 50 Late Postclassic (AD 1250-1525) prismatic obsidian blades from two Maya sites in the Utatlan/Q'umarkaj region of the Quiché Basin in highland Guatemala: Ismachi and Pakaman. A preliminary analysis of a random sample of ten blades revealed signs of intensive use on all blades as well as microscopic hair or fiber attached to the edge of 40% of the sample. The present study aims to elucidate these initial results by examining a larger sample size at magnifications over 10x. The use-wear patterns from this study will be compared to previous analyses of archaeological use-wear, as well as experimental studies linking certain tool functions to specific obsidian wear patterns. Preliminary conclusions suggest that the Maya employed obsidian blades for a variety of functions, including animal meat and hide processing. By comparing the wear patterns from this previously uninvestigated sample to archaeological and experimental studies of obsidian use-wear, this project will contribute to comparative analyses of wear and tool function in the Maya area.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25945