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The Chipped Stone Industry of Cihuatan and Santa María, El Salvador, and Sources of Obsidian from Cihuatan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2017

William R. Fowler Jr. ,
Jane H. Kelley ,
Frank Asaro ,
Helen V. Michel  and
Fred H. Stross
William R. Fowler Jr.
Affiliation:
School of Social Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA 92717
Jane H. Kelley
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
Frank Asaro
Affiliation:
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
Helen V. Michel
Affiliation:
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
Fred H. Stross
Affiliation:
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
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Abstract

The chipped stone industry of Cihuatan and Santa Maria, Postclassic sites of north-central El Salvador, is discussed briefly in terms of behavioral/technological typology. The industry was based almost exclusively on obsidian and emphasized specialized production of prismatic blades. Source determinations by X-ray fluorescence and neutron activation analysis of 20 obsidian specimens from Cihuatan indicate that at least three highland Guatemalan sources supplied obsidian to the site. Twelve specimens are attributed to the Ixtepeque source, seven to El Chayal, and one to San Martín Jilotepeque. The multiple-source procurement pattern is interpreted as a hedge against the fragility of Postclassic sociopolitical alliances and shifting exchange networks.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 52 , Issue 1 , January 1987 , pp. 151 - 160
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1987

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References

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