Procurement at the Chivay obsidian source, Arequipa, Peru

Abstract

Results of survey and test excavations at the Chivay obsidian source in highland Peru found evidence of use of the source area throughout much of the prehispanic past. An examination of a quarry pit and workshop suggest that quarrying and workshop production intensified at the end of the Preceramic period in the region. The high elevation Chivay source (71.53558 S, 15.64238 E) lies at 4950 masl and was the geological origin for prehispanic obsidian artifacts from throughout much of southern Peru and Bolivia. Radiocarbon dates on charcoal recovered from the lower levels of a test unit placed in a mound of obsidian debris at the workshop, together with an obsidian hydration sequence from test units at both the workshop and the quarry pit, point to an amplification of quarrying and workshop production during the Terminal Archaic, or the third and second millennium BC. Regional exchange networks and trade in exotic goods are extensive during later periods in Andean prehistory but these data suggest that obsidian as an early target of procurement over distance was prepared in a dense production deposit that reflects changes over time.

A Review of Obsidian Source Exploitation in pre-Columbian South America

“…Archaeological evidence indicate that this source was quite extensively exploited before 600 AD, while newer obsidian artefacts, correlated with an earlier period of human habitation termed Pre-ceramic, indicate that this source was used for obsidian procurement since ca. 2500 BC (Tripcevich & Mackay, 2011).…”

Archaeological Approaches to Obsidian Quarries: Investigations at the Quispisisa Source

“…Phenomena such as direct transport from the source area by displaced populations during the Inca period may explain, for instance, a collection of 29 small, unmodi fi ed obsidian nodules from the Chivay source found by Bingham in a ritual context over 300 km distant at the gateway to Machu Picchu (Burger et al 2000 : 347;Burger and Salazar 2004 : 103, 161). This possible evidence of ritual use of obsidian at Machu Picchu is complemented back at the Chivay source by an Inca-style cutstone masonry structure (possibly a square chullpa ) and pottery adjacent the principal obsidian workshop (Tripcevich and Mackay 2011 ) .…”

“…2.2 ): Alca, Chivay, Jampatilla, Lisahuacho, Potreropampa Puzolana, and Quispisisa, while the Acarí type has recently been linked to the Anillo source in northern Arequipa . However, survey and excavation characterizing Prehispanic procurement at these sources remain scarce, represented in print only by Tripcevich's work at Chivay (Tripcevich 2007 ;Tripcevich and Mackay 2011 ) . Ongoing geoarchaeological survey and geochemical analysis at the Alca obsidian source (Burger et al 1998b ;Jennings and Glascock 2002 ; 2006, 2012 ) have documented a few quarry pits and limited tunneling into tuff for obsidian procurement, as well as identifying distinct geochemical signatures for particular fl ows at Alca that may provide analytical possibilities (Eerkens and Rosenthal 2004 ) .…”

“…Andean ethnohistoric sources do not specify whether obsidian was considered a ritually signi fi cant material or if its mining was associated with ritual activity. There are examples of ritual structures at obsidian sources, such as a cluster of Inca period chullpa mortuary structures at the Chivay obsidian source (Tripcevich and Mackay 2011 ) and a relatively high density of saylluas (cairns) marking the location where a major trail overlooks the Quispisisa obsidian source (Tripcevich and Contreras 2011 : 125). However, chullpa and cairn structures are not uncommon in the central Andes, underscoring the dif fi culty in fi nding straightforward material indicators of the ritual signi fi cance at mining sites.…”

An Introduction to Mining and Quarrying in the Ancient Andes: Sociopolitical, Economic and Symbolic Dimensions

“…The speci fi c mine locations and adjacent processing areas may be preferentially located close to facilities like grazing for herds and sheltered locations for residence, or along routes used regularly by pastoralists (Stöllner 2008a : 71;Tripcevich and Contreras 2011 ;Tripcevich and Mackay 2011 ) . Salazar and colleagues (Chap.…”