Determining the Geological Provenance of Obsidian Artifacts from the Maya Region: A Test of the Efficacy of Visual Sourcing

Braswell, Geoffrey E.; Clark, John E.; Aoyama, Kazuo; McKillop, Heather; Glascock, Michael D.

doi:10.2307/972178

Cited by 64 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Though visual sourcing can be a problematic endeavor in and of itself, various studies have proven its efficacy (e.g. Braswell et al, 2000;Moholy-Nagy and Nelson, 1990;Pierce, 2015). Furthermore, in a test by Ohnersorgen et al (2012), the sorting of visual groups was confirmed for accuracy at approximately 95% when a sample was tested through geochemical sourcing.…”

Section: Chacalillamentioning

confidence: 99%

Volcán las Navajas: The chemical characterization and usage of a West Mexican obsidian source in the Aztatlán tradition

Pierce

2016

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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Section: Chacalillamentioning

confidence: 99%

Volcán las Navajas: The chemical characterization and usage of a West Mexican obsidian source in the Aztatlán tradition

Pierce

2016

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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“…No one has yet attempted a synthesis of Mesoamerican obsidian exchange systems. Methodological research on obsidian sourcing techniques (e.g., Braswell et al, 2000;Glascock et al, 1998) promises to improve research results in the future.…”

Section: Exchange Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New World States and Empires: Economic and Social Organization

Smith

Schreiber

2005

J Archaeol Res

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We take a critical perspective in discussing recent publications on the archaeological study of the ancient state-level societies of Latin America. For some topics, such as intensive agriculture and exchange, data are far ahead of theory, whereas for others (e.g., gender and ethnicity), theory has outstripped data. Craft production, a topic that has achieved a good balance of data and theory, is one of the success stories of recent Latin American archaeology. After a discussion of sources of data, we review these and other topics (e.g., consumption patterns, household studies, social organization) in terms of both data and theory. In a second review article, we cover the topics of politics, religion, urbanism, and the processes of change.

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“…Small quantities of other locally available stone include chalcedony (2 or 0.7%), limestone (7 or 2.6%), and quartzite (3 or 1.1%). The only imported stone is obsidian from the Guatemalan highlands (5 or 1.8%), which was identified based on visual sourcing (see Braswell et al, 2000). This pattern of heavy dependence on local chert sources is also seen in other caves and rockshelters in western and southern Belize (Peterson, 2006;Prufer, 2002;Stemp, 2009;Stemp et al, 2013).…”

Section: The Chipped-stone Assemblage From Deep Valley Rocksheltermentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancientg Maya Stone Tools and Ritual Use of Deep Valley Rockshelter, Belize

Stemp¹,

Wrobel²,

Haley³

et al. 2015

JCKS

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This paper discusses the technological and microscopic use-wear analyses of the chert debitage excavated from Deep Valley Rockshelter. This rockshelter, located in the Caves Branch River Valley of central Belize, was primarily used by the ancient Maya from the Late Preclassic to Terminal Classic periods and may demonstrate a pattern of rockshelter usage by the Classic period Maya. To test whether such a pattern exists, lithic data from Caves Branch Rockshelter and other rockshelters in Belize, specifically those in the Sibun Valley and the Ek Xux Valley, are compared. Interpretations are complicated, however, by the severe mixing of deposits, which makes segregating the lithic artifacts into different reduction or use events nearly impossible. Moreover, this mixing severely hampers reconstructions of diachronic change in stone-tool use in the rockshelter. While acknowledging these limitations, our analysis suggests that the lithics in the rockshelter are primarily the result of reduction and use-related activities that originally occurred at other nearby surface sites rather than in the rockshelter itself. Consequently, the chipped-stone artifacts recovered from this rockshelter most likely result from secondary deposition of debitage for ritual purposes and represent accumulation over many years. We suspect this type of secondary deposition of debitage was also occurring at other rockshelters in Belize, based on comparisons to the chipped stone assemblages from these locations. We cannot discount the possibility that some stone tool production and use may have originally occurred in Deep Valley Rockshelter, but support for this is minimal.

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Determining the Geological Provenance of Obsidian Artifacts from the Maya Region: A Test of the Efficacy of Visual Sourcing

Cited by 64 publications

References 24 publications

Volcán las Navajas: The chemical characterization and usage of a West Mexican obsidian source in the Aztatlán tradition

Volcán las Navajas: The chemical characterization and usage of a West Mexican obsidian source in the Aztatlán tradition

New World States and Empires: Economic and Social Organization

Ancientg Maya Stone Tools and Ritual Use of Deep Valley Rockshelter, Belize

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