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Obsidian as Jewelry: Lapidary Production in Aztec Otumba, Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2008

Cynthia L. Otis Charlton
Cynthia L. Otis Charlton
Affiliation:
c/o T.H. Charlton, Department of Anthropology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
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Abstract

Research carried out during the last three decades at the Late Postclassic city-state of Otumba, Mexico, has identified a wide variety of craft-production specializations. Data derived from excavations and surface collections made at the workshop site of one of Otumba's specialties—lapidary jewelry production—have revealed much of the process for the production of such jewelry, including ear spools, lip plugs, and beads, along with some possible secondary products, such as sequins and disks, all primarily made from obsidian. Besides the lapidary products themselves, many of the tools employed in production—made of obsidian, chert, and basalt—were found. The materials recovered enhance and expand upon the information available from colonial documentary sources, providing greater insight into this complicated and intriguing process.

Type
Special Section: Recent Research on Obsidian in Mesoamerica
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 4 , Issue 2 , Fall 1993 , pp. 231 - 243
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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