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OBSIDIAN SUB-SOURCES AT THE ZARAGOZA-OYAMELES QUARRY IN PUEBLA, MEXICO: SIMILARITIES WITH ALTOTONGA AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION THROUGHOUT MESOAMERICA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2017

Charles L. F. Knight ,
Heng Hu ,
Michael D. Glascock  and
Stephen A. Nelson
Charles L. F. Knight
Affiliation:
Consulting Archaeology Program, University of Vermont, 111 Delehanty Hall, Burlington, VT 05405, USA (cknight@uvm.edu)
Heng Hu
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Science, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA
Michael D. Glascock
Affiliation:
University of Missouri Research Reactor, 1513 Research Park Drive, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
Stephen A. Nelson
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Science, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA
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Abstract

We present data produced through archaeological and geological survey, as well as geochemical analysis of the Zaragoza-Oyameles obsidian source area located on the northern and western flanks of the Los Humeros Caldera in eastern Puebla, Mexico. One result of the intensive archaeological surface survey of this obsidian source area was the identification of 117 obsidian flow-band exposures. Geologic samples from 40 of these were submitted for instrumental neutron activation analysis. Eighty-five projectile points collected from the surface were characterized using portable X-ray fluorescence. These analyses identified three sub-sources: Z-O1, Potreros Caldera, and Gomez Sur. The Gomez Sur sub-source appears chemically similar to the previously identified Altotonga source, located 25 km to the northeast. Results of the geological survey help elucidate the relationship of Altotonga obsidian with the Zaragoza-Oyameles source area. The data from the three sub-sources are compared to all consumer site data attributed to the Zaragoza-Oyameles source in the Missouri University Research Reactor database. Results indicate that the majority of consumer samples throughout Mesoamerica match the Z-O1 sub-source, while 4 percent match the Potreros Caldera sub-source. This information, combined with the Gomez Sur data, is discussed in terms of economic relations with the regional center of Cantona. Obsidian procurement and distribution may have been more nuanced than previously modeled. We suggest that a number of potentially independent communities in addition to Cantona may have been involved in distributing this obsidian throughout Mesoamerica.

En este trabajo se presentan los resultados de un relevamiento arqueológico y geológico y de análisis geoquímicos del área de la fuente de obsidiana Zaragoza-Oyameles, localizada en los flancos norte y oeste de la caldera de Los Humeros, en el oriente del estado de Puebla, México. Uno de los resultados del relevamiento arqueológico intensivo de superficie fue la identificación de 117 bandas expuestas de flujo de obsidiana. De éstas, se sometieron 40 muestras geológicas al análisis instrumental por activación neutrónica. Adicionalmente, se analizó la composición elemental de 85 puntas de proyectil halladas en superficie usando un equipo portátil de fluorescencia de rayos X. Estos análisis identificaron tres sub-fuentes: Z-O1, Potreros Caldera y Gómez Sur. La sub-fuente Gómez Sur es químicamente similar a la fuente de obsidiana previamente identificada de Altotonga, localizada 25 kilómetros hacia el noreste. Los resultados del reconocimiento geológico ayudan a esclarecer la relación entre la obsidiana de Altotonga y la del área de la fuente de Zaragoza-Oyameles. Se comparan los datos de las tres sub-fuentes con la base de datos del University of Missouri Research Reactor, la cual incluye sitios del centro y sureste de México y Guatemala. Los resultados indican que la mayoría de las muestras de artefactos a lo largo de Mesoamérica corresponden a la sub-fuente Z-O1, mientras que el cuatro por ciento corresponde a la sub-fuente Potreros Caldera. Se discute esta información, junto con los datos de la sub-fuente Gómez Sur, en términos de las relaciones económicas con el centro regional de Cantona. Es posible que la adquisición y distribución de obsidiana fueran más importantes para este centro de lo que se pensó antes. La distribución de esta obsidiana a través de Mesoamérica pudo haber involucrado varias estrategias, llevadas a cabo por un número de comunidades potencialmente independientes además de Cantona.

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Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , March 2017 , pp. 46 - 65
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 by the Society for American Archaeology 

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