Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T19:09:24.024Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Chemical Characteristics of Obsidian from Archaeological Sites in Western Mexico and the Tequila Source Area: Implications for Regional and Pan-Regional Interaction Within the Northern Mesoamerican Periphery

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2008

Charles D. Trombold ,
James F. Luhr ,
Toshiaki Hasenaka  and
Michael D. Glascock
Charles D. Trombold
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
James F. Luhr
Affiliation:
Department of Mineral Sciences, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA
Toshiaki Hasenaka
Affiliation:
Institute of Mineralogy, Petrology and Economic Geology, Tohoku University, Sendai 980, Japan
Michael D. Glascock
Affiliation:
Missouri University Research Reactor, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A total of 51 obsidian samples from archaeological sites in western Mexico (La Quemada, Totoate, Las Ventanas, Laguna San Marcos) and from the Tequila source area were analyzed chemically by direct-current plasma atomic emission spectrometry (DCP) and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) in an effort to identify the sources of the archaeological obsidian by step-wise discriminant analysis of the data. Surprisingly, only 3 of the 39 archaeological samples (2 from Laguna San Marcos and 1 from Las Ventanas) could be correlated with a Volcán Tequila source (Teuchitlan). Four other groups of archaeological obsidian were recognized. The largest, Group Y, was found to be derived from the La Lobera source located near the Jalisco–Zacatecas border. This source accounted for 12% of La Quemada obsidian and a higher proportion for Las Ventanas and Totoate. Source locations for the remaining three groups could not be determined from the existing chemical data base. These results could indicate that a minimum of interaction took place between La Quemada and the Teuchitlan cultural tradition. It shows that one focus of La Quemada's trade endeavors was in the Río Bolaños/Tlaltenango valleys. This study also indicates that organized obsidian trade between the Mexican core and its outer periphery was probably not a factor between a.d. 400 and 800.

Type
Special Section: Recent Research on Obsidian in Mesoamerica
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 4 , Issue 2 , Fall 1993 , pp. 255 - 270
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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

Ando, A., Mita, N., and Terashima, S. 1987 Values for Fifteen GSJ Rock Reference Samples, “Igneous Rock Series.” Geostandards Newsletter 11: 159–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Armillas, Pedro 1964 Condiciones ambientes y movimientos de pueblos en la frontera septentrional de Mesoamerica. In Homenaje a Fernando Marquéz-Miranda, pp. 62–82. Publicaciones del Seminario de Estudios Americanistas and Seminario de Antropología Americana, Universidades de Madrid y Sevilla, Spain.Google Scholar
Aveni, Anthony F., Hartung, Horst, and Kelley, J. Charles 1982 Alta Vista (Chalchihuites), Astronomical Implications of a Mesoamerican Ceremonial Outpost at the Tropic of Cancer. American Antiquity 47: 316–335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bejarano, Emilio 1977 La presencia Teotihuacana en Guanajuato. In Los Procesos de Cambio, II, pp. 335–342. XV Mesa Redonda of Sociedad Mexicana de Antropología and Universidad de Guanajuato, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Bowman, H.R., Asaro, Frank, and Periman, Isadore 1973 Composition Variations in Obsidian Sources and the Archaeological Implications. Archaeometry 15: 123–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brambila, Rosa, and Velasco, Margarita 1988 Materiales de La Negrita y la expansión de Teotihuacan al norte. In Primera reunión sobre las sociedades prehispánicas en el centro occidente de México, pp. 287–298. Centro Regional de Querétaro, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Braniff, Beatriz 1961 Exploraciones arqueológicas en el Tunal Grande. Boletin del INAH 5: 6–8. Mexico.Google Scholar
Braniff, Beatriz 1965 Estudios arqueológicas en el Río de la Laja, Guanajuato. Boletin del INAH 19: 12–13. Mexico.Google Scholar
Braniff, Beatriz 1972 Sequencias arqueologicas en Guanajuato y la cuenca de Mexico. In XI Mesa Redonda, Sociedad Mexicana de Antropología, pp. 273–313. Mexico.Google Scholar
Braniff, Beatriz 1974 Oscilación de la frontera septentrional mesoamericana. In The Archaeology of West Mexico, edited by Bell, Betty, pp. 40–50. West Mexican Society for Advanced Study, Ajijic, Mexico.Google Scholar
Braniff, Beatriz 1975 La estratigrafía arqueológica de Villa de Reyes, S.L.P.: Un sitio en la frontera de Mesoamerica. In Cuadernos de los Centros No. 17, pp. 347–368. Direccion de los Centros, Mexico.Google Scholar
Braniff, Beatriz 1990 Avances y perspectivas sobre la región del norte de México y su desarrollo en los siglos XI al XII. In Mesoamerica y norte de México siglos IX-XII, vol. 2, coordinated by Miranda, F. Sodi, pp. 655–687. Museo Nacional de Antropología, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México.Google Scholar
Braudel, Fernand 1973 The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Time of Philip II, vol. 2. Harper and Row, New YorkGoogle Scholar
Braudel, Fernand 1979 The Wheels of Commerce. Harper and Row, New York.Google Scholar
Burri, C. 1930 Petrographische Beschreibung einiger von Immanuel Friedlander im Mexiko Gesammetle Vulkanischer Gesteine. Zeitschrift fur Vulkanologie 13: 165–192.Google Scholar
Cabrero, Garcia, Teresa, Maria 1984 Civilización en el norte de México: Arqueología en el Río Bolaños de Zacatecas. Unpublished Master's thesis, Escuela Nacional de Antropología, Mexico.Google Scholar
Castañeda Carlos, B., Crespo, Cervantes A.M., and Flores, L.M. 1989 Poblamiento prehispánico en el centro norte de la frontera mesoamericana. Antropología 28: 34–43. Mexico.Google Scholar
Castañeda, C., Flores, L.M., Crespo, A.M., Contreras, J.A., Duran, T., and Saint-Charles, J.C. 1988 Interpretación de la historia del asentamiento en Guanajuato. In Primera reunión sobre las sociedades prehispánicas en el centro occidente de México, pp. 321–356. Centro Regional de Querétaro, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Cobean, Robert H., Vogt, James R., Glascock, Michael D., and Stocker, Terrance L. 1991 High-Precision Trace-Element Characterization of Major Mesoamerican Obsidian Sources and Further Analyses of Artifacts from San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, Mexico. Latin American Antiquity 2: 69–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crespo, Anna Maria 1976 Villa de Reyes, San Luis Potosì: Un núcleo agrícola en la frontera norte de Mesoamerica. In Colección Científica-Arqueología No. 42. Departamento de Monumentos Prehispánicos, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México.Google Scholar
Darling, J. Andrew 1993 Notes on Obsidian Sources of the Southern Sierra Madre Occidental. Ancient Mesoamerica 4: 245–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, J.C. 1973 Statistics and Data Analysis in Geology. John Wiley and Sons, New York.Google Scholar
Demant, A. 1978 El Eje Neovolcánico Transméxico: Sus problemas de inter pretación. Revista 2: 172–187. Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.Google Scholar
Demant, A. 1979 Volcanología y petrografía del sector occidente del Eje Neovol cánico. Revista 3: 39–57. Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.Google Scholar
Diehl, Richard A. 1983 Tula: The Toltec Capital of Ancient Mesoamerica. Thames and Hudson, London.Google Scholar
Elam, J. Michael, Glascock, Michael D., and Finsten, Laura 1990 The Implications of Obsidian Artifact Proveniences from Jalieza, Oaxaca, Mexico. In Archaeometry '90, edited by Pernica, E. and Wagner, G.A., pp. 251–265. Birkhauser Verlag, Basel.Google Scholar
Ericson, Jonathan E., and Kimberlin, Jerome 1977 Obsidian Sources, Chemical Characterization and Hydration Rates in West Mexico. Archaeometry 19: 157–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feigenson, Mark D., and Carr, Michael S. 1985 Determination of Major, Trace and Rare-Earth Elements in Rocks by DCP-AES. Chemical Geology 51: 19–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferrara, G., and Treuil, M. 1974 Petrological Implications of Trace Element and Sr Isotope Distributions in Basalt-Pantellerite Series. Bulletin of Volcanology 38: 548–574.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Friedlander, I. 1930 Über die Mexikanischen Vulkane Pico de Orizaba, Cerro de Tequila und Colima. Zeitschrift fur Vulkanologie 13: 154–164.Google Scholar
Gladney, Ernest S., Burns, Colleen E., and Reolandts, Iwan 1983 Compilation of Elemental Concentrations in Eleven United States Geological Survey Rock Standards. Geostandards Newsletter 7: 3–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glascock, Michael D., Elam, J. Michael, and Aoyama, Kazuo 1990 Provenience Analysis of Obsidian Artifacts from the La Entrada Region, Honduras. In Archaeometry '90, edited by Pernicka, E. and Wagner, G.A., pp. 395–404. Birkhauser Verlag, Basel.Google Scholar
Glascock, Michael D., Elam, J. Michael, and Cobean, Robert H. 1988 Differentiation of Obsidian Sources in Mesoamerica. In Archaeometry '88, edited by Farquhar, R.M., Hancock, R.G.V., and Pavlish, L.A., pp. 245–251. University of Toronto, Toronto.Google Scholar
Graham, Christopher C., Glascock, Michael D., Carni, James J., Vogt, James R., and Spalding, Thomas G. 1982 Determination of Elements in the National Bureau of Standards Geological Standard Reference Materials by Neutron Activation Analysis. Analytical Chemistry 54: 1623–1627.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, Joan 1986 Silicic Volcanics of Volcán Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Geology, University of California, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Hers, M-A. 1976 Primeras temporadas de la Misión Belga en la Sierra del Nayar. Boletin del INAH 16: 41–44. Mexico.Google Scholar
Hers, M-A. 1989 Los toltecas en tierras chichimecas. Cuadernos de Historia del Arte No. 35. Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, Universidad Autónoma de México, Mexico.Google Scholar
Hrdlička, Ales 1903 The Region of the Ancient “Chichimecs,” with Notes on the Tepecanos and the Ruins of La Quemada. American Anthropologist 5: 385–440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jennrich, R., and Sampson, P. 1983 P7M Stepwise Discriminant Analysis. In BMDP Statistical Software, edited by Dixon, W. J., pp. 519–537. University of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Kelley, J. Charles 1971 Archaeology of the Northern Frontier: Zacatecas and Durango. In Archaeology of Northern Mesoamerica, pt. 2, edited by Ekholm, Gordon F. and Bernai, Ignacio, pp. 768–804. Handbook of Middle American Indians, vol. 11, Robert Wauchope, general editor. University of Texas Press, AustinGoogle Scholar
Kelley, J. Charles 1976 Alta Vista: Outpost of Mesoamerican Empire on the Tropic of Cancer. In Las Fronteras de Mesoamerica, pp. 21–40. XIV Mesa Redonda, Sociedad Mexicana de Antropologia, Tegucigalpa.Google Scholar
Macias Goytia, A., and Serret, K.V. 1988 Tres Cerritos, Cuitzeo Michoacan. In Primera reunión sobre las sociedades prehispánicas en el centro occidente de México, pp. 161–164. Centro Regional de Querétaro, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Manzanilla Lopez, R. 1988 Salvamento arqueológico en Loma de Santa Maria, Morelia, Michoacan. In Primera reunión sobre las sociedades prehispánicas en el centro occidente de México, pp. 151–160. Centro Regional de Querétaro, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Margain, Carlos 1943 Zonas arqueológicas de Querétaro, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes y Zacatecas. In El norte de México y el sur de los Estados Unidos, pp. 145–148. III Mesa Redonda, Sociedad Mexicana de Antropología, México.Google Scholar
Moguel, M.A., and Sanchez, S. 1988 Guanajuato y el noreste de Michoacan: Algunos apreciaciones cerámicas. In Primera reunión sobre las sociedades prehispánicas en el centro occidente de México, pp. 223–228. Centro Regional de Querétaro, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Mozzillo, Elizabeth O. 1990 Las Ventanas: A Northern Mesoamerican Frontier Site in Zacatecas, Mexico. Paper presented at the 55th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Las Vegas.Google Scholar
Nelson, Ben A. 1988 Outposts of Mesoamerican Empire and Domestic Patterning at La Quemada, Zacatecas, Mexico. Paper presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Phoenix.Google Scholar
Nelson, Ben A. 1989 Preliminary Report of SUNY-Buffalo Investigations at La Quemada, Zacatecas: 1987 and 1988 Seasons. Manuscript on file, Department of Anthropology, State University of New York, Buffalo.Google Scholar
Nelson, Ben A. 1990 Observaciones acerca de la presencia tolteca en La Quemada, Zacatecas. In Mesoamerica y norte de México siglos IX-XII, vol. 2, coordinated by Miranda, F. Sodi, pp. 521–539. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Paddock, John 1972 Distribución de rasgos teotihuacanos en Mesoamerica. Teotihuacan, pp. 223–240. XI Mesa Redonda, Sociedad Mexicana de Antropología, Mexico.Google Scholar
Perlman, Isadore, and Asaro, Frank 1969 Pottery Analysis by Neutron Activation. Archaeometry 11: 21–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pollard, Helen P., Stephenson, C., and Vogel, T.A. 1990 The Political and Economic Implications of Obsidian Trade Within the Tarascan State. Paper presented at the 89th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Renfrew, Colin 1986 Introduction: Peer Polity Interaction and Sociopolitical Exchange. In Peer Polity Interaction and Sociopolitical Change, edited by Renfrew, Colin and Cherry, J., pp. 1–18. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Sanchez, S.C., and Morales, E.M. 1990 Algunas apreciaciones sobre el clásico en el Bajío Central, Guanajuato. In La época clásica: Nuevos hallazgos, nuevos ideas, edited by Mendez, A. Cardos de, pp. 267–278. Museo Nacional de Antropología, Instituto Nacional de Antropología, Mexico.Google Scholar
Stross, Fred H., Hester, Thomas R., Heizer, Robert F., and Jack, Robert N. 1976 Chemical and Archaeological Studies of Mesoamerican Obsidians. In Advances in Obsidian Glass Studies, edited by Taylor, R.E., pp. 240–258. Noyes Press, Park Ridge, NJ.Google Scholar
Stress, Fred H., Sheets, Payson, Asaro, Frank, and Michel, Helen V. 1983 Precise Characterization of Guatemalan Obsidian Sources, and Source Determination of Artifacts from Quiriguá. American Antiquity 48: 323–346.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trombold, Charles D. 1985 A Summary of the Archaeology of the La Quemada Region. In The Archaeology of West and Northwest Mesoamerica, edited by Foster, Michael S. and Weigand, Philip C., pp. 237–268. West-view Press, Boulder, CO.Google Scholar
Trombold, Charles D. 1988 Algunos patrones emergentes en la arqueología de la frontera norte mesoamericana. In Primera reunion sobre las sociedades prehispánicas en el centro occidente de México, pp. 377–400. Centro Regional de Querétaro, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Trombold, Charles D. 1990 A Reconsideration of Chronology for the La Quemada Portion of the Northern Mesoamerican Frontier. American Antiquity 55: 308–324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trombold, Charles D. 1991 Causeways in the Context of Strategic Planning in the La Quemada Region. In Ancient Road Networks and Settlement Hierarchies in the New World, edited by Trombold, Charles D., pp. 145–168. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Velasco, Margarita, and Brambila, Rosa 1978 Trabajos de rescate arqueológico en La Negrita, Querétaro. Revista Mexicana de Estudios Antropológicos 24: 53–75. Mexico.Google Scholar
Vogt, James R., Graham, Christopher C., Glascock, Michael D., and Cobean, Robert H. 1982 A Study of Mesoamerican Obsidian Sources Using Activation Analysis. Journal of Radioanalytical Chemistry 69: 271–289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallerstein, Immanuel 1974a The Modern World System I: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the 16th Century. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Wallerstein, Immanuel 1974b The Rise and Future Demise of the World Capitalist System: Concepts for Comparative Analysis. Comparative Studies in Society and History 16: 387–415.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallerstein, Immanuel 1985 The Three Stages of African Involvement in the World Economy. In Political Economy of Contemporary Africa, edited by Gutkind, P.W. and Wallerstein, I., pp. 35–63. Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, CA.Google Scholar
Weigand, Phil C. 1968 The Mines and Mining Techniques of the Chalchihuites Culture. American Antiquity 33: 45–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weigand, Phil C. 1975, Possible References to La Quemada in Huichol Mythology. Ethnohistory 22(1):15–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weigand, Phil C. 1985a Evidence for Complex Societies During the West Mexican Classic Period. In The Archaeology of West and Northwest Mesoamerica, edited by Foster, Michael S. and Weigand, Phil C., pp. 47–92. Westview Press, Boulder, CO.Google Scholar
Weigand, Phil C. 1985b Considerations on the Archaeology and Ethnohistory of the Mexicaneros, Tequales, Coras, Huicholes, and Caxcanes of Nayarit, Jalisco and Zacatecas. In Contributions to the Archaeology and Ethnohistory of Greater Mesoamerica, edited by Folan, William J., pp. 126–187. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale.Google Scholar
Weigand, Phil C. 1991 Mining Societies as Interactive Agencies on the Northern Frontier of Mesoamerica: The Case-Study of Chaco Canyon. Paper presented at the 47th International Congress of Americanists, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Weigand, Phil C., Harbottle, Garman, and Sayre, Edward V. 1977 Turquoise Sources and Source Analysis: Mesoamerica and the Southwestern U.S.A. In Exchange Systems in Prehistory, edited by Earle, Timothy K. and Ericson, Jonathan E., pp. 15–34. Academic Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weigand, Phil C., and Spence, Michael W. 1982 The Obsidian Mining Complex at La Joya, Jalisco. In Mining and Mining Techniques in Ancient Mesoamerica, edited by Weigand, Phil C. and Gwynne, G., pp. 175–188. Anthropology No. 6. Special Edition. State University of New York, Stony Brook.Google Scholar
Zeitlin, Robert C., and Heimbuch, R.C. 1978 Trace Element Analysis and the Archaeological Study of Obsidian Procurement in Precolumbian Mesoamerica. In Lithics and Subsistence: The Analysis of Stone Tool Use in Prehistoric Economies, edited by Davis, Dave D., pp. 117–159. Publications in Anthropology No 20. Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.Google Scholar
Zubrow, E., and Willard, A.R. (editors) 1974 Models and Innovations: Archaeological and Regional Approaches to Guanajuato, Mexico. Leland Stanford Junior University, Palo Alto, CA.Google Scholar