Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T16:31:38.005Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Obsidian Blades from La Blanca, a Changing Lithic Industry on the South Coast of Guatemala

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

C. Roger Nance
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294
Katharine A. Kirk
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics and Biomathematics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294

Abstract

In a study of Middle Preclassic (Conchas phase) ceramics from the site of La Blanca, Love (1989) derived a sequence of four subphases. Here, the focus is on 431 prismatic obsidian blades excavated from the same deposits in order to discern if patterns of change can be discovered in this lithic industry. For each blade, recorded attributes describe blade dimensions and edge wear, as observed through low-power microscopy. Chronological controls were set by ceramic associations. Through the sequence, blades became smaller and more fragmentary, due, we hypothesized, to an increasing scarcity of obsidian. As predicted from these trends, we found that wear patterns became more pronounced through time, and use of a bipolar technology became increasingly important for removing (rejuvenating) worn lateral edges. A definite obsidian-blade sequence emerged, which was investigated through linear discriminant-function analyses.

En un estudio de la cerámica del Preclásico Medio (fase Conchas) del sitio de La Blanca, Love (1989) derivó una secuencia de cuatro subfases. Aquí, el enfoque es sobre 431 navajas prismáticas de obsidiana, excavadas de los mismos depósitos para percibir si pueden descubrirse patrones de cambio en esta industria lítica. Para cada navaja, los atributos anotados describen sus dimensiones y el desgaste de filo, tal como son observados bajo microscopía de bajo-aumento. Controles cronológicos fueron fijados por asociaciones cerámicas. A lo largo de la secuencia, las navajas se hacían más pequeñas y más fragmentarias, debido, postulamos, a una creciente escasez de obsidiana. Como fue predicho con base en estas tendencias, encontramos que los patrones de desgaste se hacían más pronunciados a lo largo del tiempo, y el uso de una tecnología bipolar se hacía cada vez más importante para eliminar (rejuvenecer) los filos laterales desgastados. Salió una bien definida secuencia de navajas obsidianas, lo cual fue investigado a través de análisis de función lineal descriminante.

Type
Reports
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1991

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

Clark, J. E. 1984a Edge Damage Induced by Core Immobilization in Prismatic Blade Manufacture. Journal of Lithic Technology 13:110.Google Scholar
Clark, J. E. 1984b Counterflaking and the Manufacture of Mesoamerican Prismatic Blades. Journal of Lithic Technology 13:5261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, J. E. 1985 Platforms, Bits, Punches and Vices: A Potpourri of Mesoamerican Blade Technology. Journal of Lithic Technology 14:115.Google Scholar
Cowgill, G. L. 1982 Clusters of Objects and Associations Between Variables: Two Approaches to Archaeological Classification. In Essays on Archaeological Typology, edited by R. Whallon and J. A. Brown, pp. 3055. Center for American Archeology Press, Evanston, Illinois.Google Scholar
Fowler, W. R. Jr. 1987 Analysis of the Chipped Stone Artifacts of El Mirador, Guatemala. Notes of the New World Archaeological Foundation No. 5. New World Archaeological Foundation, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.Google Scholar
Hay, C. A. 1978 Kaminaljuyu Obsidian: Lithic Analysis and the Economic Organization of a Prehistoric Maya Chiefdom. Ph.D. dissertation, Pennsylvania State University. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Jackson, T. L., and Love, M. W. 1991 Blade Running: Middle Preclassic Obsidian Exchange and the Introduction of Prismatic Blades at La Blanca, Guatemala. Ancient Mesoamerica 2:4759.Google Scholar
Lewenstein, S. M. 1987 Stone Tool Use at Cerros. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Love, M. W. 1989 Early Settlements and Chronology of the Rio Naranjo, Guatemala. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Love, M. W., and Jackson, T. L. 1991 The Production and Exchange of Obsidian in Middle Preclassic Pacific Guatemala. Paper presented at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Sheets, P. D. 1978 Part One: Artifacts. In The Prehistory of Chalchuapa, El Salvador, vol. 2, by P. D. Sheets and B. H. Dahlin, pp. 2131. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.Google Scholar