An Analysis of No Agua Obsidian

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Recent Research in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, Northern New Mexico" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The No Agua Peaks are a relative understudied obsidian source. An easily accessed and relatively large deposit area, one would expect No Agua obsidian to be frequently used and widely distributed. However, because of the source’s high silica content, desirability for and practicality of use of this material is questionable. Using data from a recent survey surrounding portions of the No Agua Peaks and neighboring Cerro del Aire, a comparison of the use of various lithic materials for chipped stone tool production was conducted. Despite its ready availability, even at sites in and around the No Agua Peaks the obsidian appears to have been used only for expedient tools. Formal chipped stone tools were made instead from local dacite, imported Jemez and Los Rechuelos obsidians, and imported cherts regardless of a site’s temporal affiliation or proximity to the Peaks.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Recent Research in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, Northern New Mexico   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24593