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The Obsidian Industry of Teotihuacán

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Michael W. Spence*
Affiliation:
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois

Abstract

Several areas with extensive obsidian-working debris on the surface have been found in Teotihuacán. These date from the Late Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic periods. During the Late Preclassic and Classic periods there seems to have been a continuous expansion of the city's obsidian industry, accompanied by an increasing trend toward specialization in certain of its aspects. It is probable that the introduction of some new markets, for example the Mayan area, into the Teotihuacán economy was one factor involved in this expansion. Another probable factor was the growth of population within the Valley of Teotihuacán itself, which in these periods depended upon the city"s workshops for its supply of obsidian.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1967

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