Obsidian Geochemical Sourcing at Huntichmul, Kiuic and Escalera Al Cielo in the Puuc Region, Mexico

Summary

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

In recent years, the use of portable X-Ray Fluorescence (p-XRF) spectrometers has become increasingly common to determine the geological sources of obsidian artifacts. This study used p-XRF to obtain trace elemental data for 354 obsidian artifacts from the sites of Huntichmul, Kiuic and Escalera Al Cielo in the Puuc region of the northern Maya lowlands. These sites were heavily occupied during the Late and Terminal Classic periods [700-1050 AD] and research is ongoing. The elemental data for each artifact was compared to that of 31 known sources from Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras in order to determine the geological source. The source data were then combined with chronological data obtained from the ceramics associated with each excavated context in order to compare the various obsidian sources utilized at each of the three sites. Results suggest that a variety of sources were used at each site and provide further evidence regarding the nature of obsidian exchange networks in place in the Puuc during that time.

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): 25920