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Articles 1 - 6 of 6
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Archaeological Approaches To Obsidian Quarries: Investigations At The Quispisisa Source, Nicholas Tripcevich, Daniel A. Contreras
Archaeological Approaches To Obsidian Quarries: Investigations At The Quispisisa Source, Nicholas Tripcevich, Daniel A. Contreras
Daniel A. Contreras
We consider how and why archaeologists have studied the vestiges of mining and quarrying, and to consider a specific Andean context: the extraction of Quispisisa-type obsidian from the Jichja Parco obsidian quarries over a period of 10,000 years of Central Andean prehistory. Preliminary research at the source ( Contreras et al. in press; Tripcevich and Contreras 2011 ) has documented large-scale extraction of obsidian, while regional consumption patterns (Burger and Glascock 2002 ) demonstrate that the material was used and widely distributed not long after humans arrived in the Central Andes. We use the example of ongoing research at the …
Begehrtes Gesteinsglas, Jirka Niklas Menke
Begehrtes Gesteinsglas, Jirka Niklas Menke
Daniel A. Contreras
Natürliche Ressourcen sind seit jeher Anlass für Kriege und Landschaftszerstörung. Humboldt-Stipendiat Dr. Daniel Contreras erforscht, wie die Menschen in den Anden einst mit solchen Quellen umgingen.
Investigaciones En La Fuente De La Obsidiana Tipo Quispisisa, Huancasancos-Ayacucho, Daniel A. Contreras, Nicholas Tripcevich, Yuri I. Cavero Palomino
Investigaciones En La Fuente De La Obsidiana Tipo Quispisisa, Huancasancos-Ayacucho, Daniel A. Contreras, Nicholas Tripcevich, Yuri I. Cavero Palomino
Daniel A. Contreras
No abstract provided.
Long-Term Human Occupation Of The Upper Río Caracha, Ayacucho, Peru, Daniel A. Contreras, Nicholas Tripcevich
Long-Term Human Occupation Of The Upper Río Caracha, Ayacucho, Peru, Daniel A. Contreras, Nicholas Tripcevich
Daniel A. Contreras
Regional consumption patterns of obsidian in Peru testify to the significance of the Quispisisa source; by 500 BCE this obsidian was reaching sites 1000 km distant. The source area thus provides both an opportunity to investigate quarrying and an case study in the long‐term occupation of a regionally important highland valley. Using satellite imagery and results of preliminary field prospection, we examine the upper Caracha drainage, where Quispisisa‐type obsidian is found. The valley is extensively terraced, and contains several large sites downstream of the source area. Our data on the settlement system and anthropogenic landscape of this regionally‐significant highland valley …
The Character And Use Of The Soros Hill Obsidian Source, Antiparos (Greece), Tristan Carter, Daniel A. Contreras
The Character And Use Of The Soros Hill Obsidian Source, Antiparos (Greece), Tristan Carter, Daniel A. Contreras
Daniel A. Contreras
This article details the geological and elemental character of the obsidian from the Soros Hill source on the Cycladic island of Antiparos, Greece. EDXRF was used to analyse 40 geological geo-referenced samples. The products are clearly chemically discriminated from those of the other Aegean sources, and those from the Carpathians and central Anatolia. While the obsidian is of excellent tool-making quality, the small size of its nodules seems to have made it a less attractive raw material, attested at only a handful of prehistoric sites in the central Cyclades.
Quarrying Evidence At The Quispisisa Obsidian Source, Ayacucho, Peru, Nicholas Tripcevich, Daniel A. Contreras
Quarrying Evidence At The Quispisisa Obsidian Source, Ayacucho, Peru, Nicholas Tripcevich, Daniel A. Contreras
Daniel A. Contreras
Artifacts made from Quispisisa obsidian are widely disseminated in the Peruvian Andes, but the geological source of the Quispisisa geochemical type was only recently located in southern Ayacucho. Following the positive identification of the source in 1999 by Richard Burger and colleagues, we found evidence of broad quarrying activities in unexplored portions of the source area. We describe 34 quarry pits, some as large as 80 m across, together with evidence of early-stage lithic reduction at the source. We encountered high concentrations of reduction debris associated with more extensive knapping in two localities, but our preliminary evaluation of surface evidence …