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OBSIDIAN BIFACE PRODUCTION AT TEOTIHUACAN: REEXAMINING A COYOTLATELCO PHASE WORKSHOP FROM HACIENDA METEPEC

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 August 2009

Zachary Nelson
Zachary Nelson*
Affiliation:
ENTRIX Inc., 807 East South Temple, Suite 350, Salt Lake City, UT 84102, USA
*
E-mail correspondence to: zn@byu.edu
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Abstract

This paper provides a reanalysis of a specialized biface workshop at Coyotlatelco-phase (a.d. 650–800) Teotihuacan excavated by Evelyn Rattray in 1979. Although Teotihuacan had already declined as a major center prior to this phase, the resident population was still being serviced by a variety of craftsmen, including knappers. The remains of an obsidian workshop at Hacienda Metepec give insight into workshop production within Epiclassic-period Teotihuacan. A single workshop produced between 4,700 and 8,700 projectile points similar in shape to San Marcos points. The homogeneous workmanship indicates a single knapper, perhaps over several years of effort.

Type
Special Section: New Directions in the Study of Mesoamerican Lithic Economy
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , Spring 2009 , pp. 149 - 162
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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