Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

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

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.

Patterning In Procurement Of Obsidian In Chaco Canyon And In Chaco-Era Communities In New Mexico As Revealed By X-Ray Fluorescence, John Kantner, Andrew I. Duff, Jeremy M. Moss, Thomas C. Windes, M Steven Shackley

John Kantner

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

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

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.

Complexities Of Collapse: The Evidence Of Maya Obsidian As Revealed By Social Network Graphical Analysis, Gary M. Feinman, Mark Golitko, James Meierhoff, Patrick Ryan Williams

Gary M. Feinman

The authors use a social network analysis to map the changing patterns of obsidian supply among the Maya during the period of Classic to Postclassic transition. The quantity of obsidian received from different sources was calculated for 121 sites and the network analysis showed how the relative abundance of material from different sources shifted over time. A shift from inland to coastal supply routes appears to have contributed to the collapse of inland Maya urban centres. The methods employed clearly have a high potential to reveal changing economic networks in cases of major societal transitions elsewhere in the world.

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 …

Macusani Obsidian From Southern Peru: A Characterization Of Its Elemental Composition With A Demonstration Of Its Ancient Use, Nathan M. Craig, Robert Speakman, R. Popelka-Filcoff, Mark Aldenderfer, Luis Flores Blanco, Margaret Brown Vega, Michael Glasscock, Charles Stanish

Nathan M Craig

Transparent obsidian artifacts have been reported for the northern Lake Titicaca Basin. Based on instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) of these artifacts a distinct chemical group was identified. Yet, the location of the source of transparent obsidian in the southern Andes remained unreported in the archaeological literature. This paper reports on the chemical composition and geographic location of a source of transparent obsidian from the Macusani region of Peru. Through the use of INAA and portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) we demonstrate that Macusani obsidian or macusanite comprises (at least) two chemical groups. One of these groups was used for making …

Macusani Obsidian From Southern Peru: A Characterization Of Its Elemental Composition With A Demonstration Of Its Ancient Use, Nathan Craig, Robert J. Speakman, Rachel S. Popelka-Filcoff, Mark S. Aldenderfer, Luis A. Flores, Margaret Brown, Michael D. Glascock, Charles Stanish

Luis FLORES

Transparent obsidian artifacts have been reported for the northern Lake Titicaca Basin. Based on instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) of these artifacts a distinct chemical group was identified. Yet, the location of the source of transparent obsidian in the southern Andes remained unreported in the archaeological literature. This paper reports on the chemical composition and geographic location of a source of transparent obsidian from the Macusani region of Peru. Through the use of INAA and portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) we demonstrate that Macusani obsidian or macusanite comprises (at least) two chemical groups. One of these groups was used for making …