Expanding Obsidian Procurement Studies in West-Central New Mexico: New Data from Early and Late Sites in the Lion Mountain Area

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Obsidian procurement studies in West-Central New Mexico have proven valuable in characterizing changes in social connections over time. Previous research into the obsidian procurement patterns in the Lion Mountain area focused on the Pueblo II through Pueblo III periods represented by the majority of archaeological sites in the area. Recent in-field XRF analysis of obsidian from an earlier, large Pithouse period and a later, Pueblo IV period site (Magdalena Pueblo) expand the temporal range and better contextualize regional interaction through obsidian procurement networks. The new data reinforce patterns observed on very small assemblages of early and late sites in the region that show a greater reliance on northern (Mt. Taylor and Jemez) sources during these periods in comparison to the focus on the local McDaniel Tank source during the Pueblo II and Pueblo III periods. The Magdalena Pueblo assemblage confirms the increased social connections previously observed in the region with the presence of more distant sources to the west.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 51969