Exchange, Crafting, and Subsistence at Early Formative Period La Consentida

Summary

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

The Early Formative (2000–1000 B.C.) period in Oaxaca is generally regarded as a transitional period from the Archaic (7000–2000 B.C.). The early formative is characterized by a change in subsistence, social organization, and sedentism. This period included the emergence of La Consentida, the earliest known settled village in coastal Oaxaca. This paper presents an analysis of the chipped stone assemblage of La Consentida focusing on obsidian, the material most used at the site. I present technological considerations regarding manufacturing techniques and subsequent issues regarding technique implementation, in addition to the within-site distribution of lithics, and other artifact classes, at the site and relate this to manufacturing techniques and inferences towards social organization. Results indicate that obsidian was a favored material for lithic manufacture used in expedient lithic reduction. Additionally, the way in which lithics, and more importantly obsidian lithics, are distributed at the site indicates a purposeful designation for manufacture and use in specific locations. Therefore, ascertaining how the lithic artifacts were distributed throughout the site will help expand current understandings of Early Formative period exchange, crafting, and subsistence practices.

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): 25913