Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T22:59:12.008Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Obsidian Sources in Guatemala: A Regional Approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Luis Hurtado de Mendoza  and
William A. Jester
Luis Hurtado de Mendoza
Affiliation:
Apartado # 205, Huancayo, Peru
William A. Jester
Affiliation:
Radionuclear Applications, Laboratory of the Breazeale Nuclear fleactor, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Geologic sources of obsidian are frequently treated in the archaeological literature as single, discrete flows, each being recognized as a different source as long as it can be geographically isolated. However, some recent studies show a tendency toward the correction of this misconception, and toward defining operationally the obsidian source concept on a regional basis. This work is intended to help achieve such definition for a number of obsidian sources in the central highlands of Guatemala. Geochemical characterization of samples from diverse source localities, attained by means of neutron activation analysis, is utilized for this purpose. The information thus obtained has importance to a number of fields of research in archaeology. To the now-routine studies on prehistoric trade routes, other lines of investigation can be added, namely the determination of source-specific obsidian hydration rates for dating purposes, and the reconstruction of structural features in sociocultural systems.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 43 , Issue 3 , July 1978 , pp. 424 - 435
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1978

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Adams, F. and Dams, R. 1969 Gamma-transition energies of radionuclides produced by reactor irradiation. Journal of RadioanalyticalChemistry 3:99–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asaro, F., et al. 1977 High-precision chemical characterization of major obsidian sources in Guatemala. Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California at Berkeley, Preprint LBL-5984.Google Scholar
Bowman, H. R., Asaro, F., and Perlman, I., et al. 1973 Composition variations in obsidian sources and the archaeological implications. Archaeometry 15:123–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cobean, Robert H., et al. 1971 Obsidian trade at San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan, Mexico. Science 174:666–671.Google Scholar
Hammond, Norman 1972 Obsidian trade routes in the Mayan area. Science 178:1092–1093.Google ScholarPubMed
Hurtado de Mendoza, Luis 1977a Obsidian exploitation and social structure in Pre-Columbian Guatemala. Paper presented at the42nd annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Hurtado de Mendoza, Luis 1977b Obsidian studies and the archaeology of the valley of Guatemala. Ph. D. dissertation, Departmentof Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University.Google Scholar
Johnson, Jay K. 1976 Site hierarchy in the Western Maya periphery, a correlation of lithic, epigraphic, architecturaland ceramic data. Paper presented at the 41st annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology,St. Louis.Google Scholar
Michels, Joseph W. 1973 Radiocarbon and obsidian dating: a chronological framework for Kaminaljuyu. Occasional Papers inAnthropology 9:21–65. Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University. University Park.Google Scholar
Nelson, Fred W., et al. 1977 Preliminary studies of the trace element composition of obsidian artifacts from northern Campeche,Mexico, American Antiquity 42:209–225.Google Scholar
Sanders, William T., and Michels, Joseph W. 1969 The Pennsylvania State University Kaminaljuyu project. Part I: The excavations. Occasional Papersin Anthropology. Number 2. Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University. UniversityPark.Google Scholar
Stross, F. H., et al. 1971 Analysis of American obsidians by X-ray fluorescence and neutron activation analysis. In Scienceand archaeology, edited by Brill, R.H., pp. 210–221. MIT Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Stross, F. H., et al. 1976 Chemical and archaeological studies of Mesoamerican obsidians. In Advances in obsidian glassstudies, edited by Taylor, R.E.. Noyes Press, Park Ridge, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Stross, F. H., et al. 1977 Sources of some obsidian flakes from a Paleoindian site in Guatemala. American Antiquity 42:114–118.Google Scholar
Sidrys, Raymond, et al. 1976 Obsidian sources in the Mayan area. Journal of New World Archaeology 1(5):1–13.Google Scholar
Ward, Joe H. Jr., 1963 Hierarchical grouping to optimize an objective function. Journal of the American Statistical Association 58:236–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winter, M. C, and Pires-Ferreira, J. W. 1976 Distribution of obsidian among households in two Oaxacan villages. In The early Mesoamericanvillage, edited by Flannery, K.V., pp. 306–311. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Wishart, David 1969 Fortran II programs for 8 methods of cluster analysis. Kansas Geological Computer Contributions,No. 38, Kansas.Google Scholar
Wishart, David 1970 CLUSTAN IA User Manual. Computing Laboratory, University of St. Andrews, Scotland.Google Scholar