Obsidian Quarry Research Articles

Ice Patches and Obsidian Quarries: Integrating Research Through Collaborative Archaeology in Tahltan Territory

ABSTRACT This article presents the results of archaeological survey of ice patches in the vicinity of the vast obsidian quarries and artifact scatters found near Goat Mountain and the Kitsu Plateau in Mount Edziza Provincial Park, Tahltan Territory. During the survey, over 50 perishable artifacts were found, including stitched birch bark containers, wooden walking staffs, carved and beveled sticks, an atlatl dart foreshaft, and a stitched hide boot. Radiocarbon ages on 13 of the perishable artifacts reveal that they span the last 7000 years. These finds were made against a massive and stunning backdrop of scattered obsidian artifacts: bifaces, cores, flakes, and raw material nodules. This project collaborated with the Obsidian Discoveries Tahltan Tene Mehodihi Youth Group Hike and the “Our Ancestors’ Trail” museum exhibition. This collaboration resulted in connections between the archaeological results presented here, community learning, and artistic inspiration.

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

The focus of this paper is the obsidian quarries of the Pacific coast of pre-Columbian South America, which were exploited by the indigenous populations since ca. 11000 BC. The importance of obsidian in geoarchaeology and palaeoanthropology has already been demonstrated in sites from all around the world. In this paper, the presence of obsidian in correlation to tectonic activity and volcanism of South America is presented, along with the main sources in their regional geological context. Obsidian artefacts were the mainstay of everyday life of indigenous populations and obsidian was also used in manufacturing weapons. Despite advances in metallurgy, which were comparable with those of contemporary European states, obsidian was never supplanted by metal implements and weapons, until the Spanish conquest. Obsidian is as useful today, as it was to these civilisations, albeit in the different role, of discerning interactions between local societies, elucidating aspects of everyday life, and tracing palaeomobility and trade networks.

The mixture problem in flake analysis: Allocating flake samples to segments of reduction using CLSR methods

Flake assemblages often are mixtures from knapping episodes that vary by reduction mode or stage. Stahle and Dunn (1982) developed a constrained least-squares regression (CLSR) method to allocate hypothetically mixed chert assemblages to successive biface-reduction stages, a partial solution to the mixing problem. ConReg is a recently developed alternative, validated against Stahle and Dunn's and our own experimental controls from replication of obsidian biface preforms. Using both controls, we apply ConReg to the “unmixing” of flake assemblages from North American Great Basin obsidian quarries. Controls produce different solutions; their separate comparison to independent analytical results of stage composition favor ConReg used with our controls. What appeared to be relatively similar early “stage” assemblages are resolved to finer proportional allocation across wider ranges of the reduction continuum, in the process showing considerable variation between samples that otherwise might escape detection. The mixture problem is a challenge to all approaches to flake analysis, not just mass analysis, but one that ConReg can help us surmount.

Campanayuq Rumi and Arpiri: two civic-ceremonial centers on the southern periphery of the Chavín Interaction Sphere

Archaeological research over the last decade has established the significance of the Peruvian south-central highlands for understanding the Chavín Interaction Sphere. Investigations at various sites in the region show distinct traditions of civic-ceremonial architecture that are in many ways comparable to better understood developments in the north-central and northern Peruvian highlands. In this paper, the authors discuss two important late Initial Period and Early Horizon centers in the region: Campanayuq Rumi and the recently discovered Arpiri. Geochemical sourcing and other lines of evidence indicate that Campanayuq Rumi was one of the major locations for the distribution of Quispisisa obsidian to the northern centers of the Chavín Interaction Sphere. However, a recent survey of the Quispisisa obsidian quarries near Huancasancos led to the discovery of Arpiri, a smaller-scale center that emulates many of the architectural conventions of Campanayuq Rumi. We hypothesize that Arpiri, which was located in close proximity to the Quispisisa quarries, was a gateway community that served to distribute obsidian to Campanayuq Rumi.

Obsidian in the prehistoric Aegean: Trade and uses

This paper studies the prehistoric use of obsidian quarries in the Aegean. Obsidian sources in the eastern Mediterranean have been traced on certain islands of the Aegean: Melos, Antiparos and Giali. Due to its hardness, this material was already being used by the end of the Upper Palaeolithic to produce blades with sharp edges to serve as knives, scrapers and razors, arrowheads and spears, axes, saws and mattocks. This naturally occurring glass was also used for ornamental purposes. During the Late and the Final Neolithic Period (ca. 5300-3200 B.C.), when the systematic habitation of the Cyclades developed, the transportation of obsidian was incorporated in the gradually developing trade networks of the Aegean. The material was much in demand in the early Bronze Age. During the later Bronze Age its use declined and by the classical period it seems to have been replaced by metal. Around 1100 B.C. the use of obsidian was discontinued because of the increasing popularity of metals. During the Roman period obsidian, was used in the manufacture of mosaics and decorative objects, such as mirrors

Knowledge Transmission Through the Lens of Lithic Production: a Case Study from the Pastoral Neolithic of Southern Kenya

This paper examines theoretical and methodological approaches to measuring and discussing skill in the archaeological record. Focusing specifically on evaluating skill in lithic production, a case study is presented which quantifies production errors in several assemblages of obsidian blades from early pastoralist sites of the Elmenteitan culture in southern Kenya (c. 3000–1400 BP). Analysis of error frequency through the blade core reduction sequence and relationships between error types suggest that production errors in blade production may relate, in part, to the presence of novices’ practice and learning. Comparison among assemblages shows that sites closer to the primary obsidian quarry site display higher proportions of blade production errors. Communities-of-practice theory is drawn upon to interpret these patterns and to generate hypotheses for how early Elmenteitan producing herders may have structured knowledge transmission related to lithic production. Finally, the paper discusses how lithic learning may have been integrated into broader social systems relating to pastoralist resilience in eastern Africa.

Picking up The Pieces: Reconstructing Lithic Production Strategies at a Late Holocene Obsidian Quarry in Southern Kenya

ABSTRACTUse of particular lithic quarries by different cultural groups is a prominent feature of the Pastoral Neolithic period in southern Kenya (ca. 3200–1400 b.p.), when lifeways based on herding domesticated livestock spread through eastern Africa. Here, I present lithic attributes from the recently excavated Elmenteitan Obsidian Quarry assemblage to examine the site’s role in an obsidian distribution network spanning southwestern Kenya. Evidence from the quarry reflects intensive preparation of blade cores and blade reduction. Changes in platform size, flake scar orientation, curvature, and cortical rates through the reduction sequence permit a preliminary reconstruction of Elmenteitan core production strategies that can serve as a basis for regional comparative studies. Uniformity in blade core design and reduction strategy suggests highly organized use of the quarry and supports its role as a production center for regional exchange. Results inform regional debates and contribute to a growing literature on the potential of quarry archaeology.

The Elmenteitan Obsidian Quarry (GsJj50): New Perspectives on Obsidian Access and Exchange During the Pastoral Neolithic in Southern Kenya

Early pastoralists in southern Kenya exploited obsidian sources to supply large regional exchange networks that persisted from c. 3200 to 1400 years ago. Obsidian exchange networks have been a source for speculation on the social and political nature of early pastoralism in eastern Africa. Herders who produced a discrete set of material culture called “Elmenteitan” mainly relied on a particular obsidian quarry site on the upper slopes of Ol Doinyo Opuru (Mt. Eburru), in the Central Rift Valley. These implications of the Elmenteitan pattern for herder social organization have not been systematically investigated. This paper reports on recent surveys and initial excavations at the Elmenteitan Obsidian Quarry (GsJj50) on Mt. Eburru as the central node of a prehistoric herder exchange network. Research revealed a series of stratified extraction and workshopping loci concentrated across a roughly 200-m2 extent. Spatial, faunal, ceramic, and lithic datasets support communal resource access by small groups, rather than centralized control. This research has implications for interpreting the role of centralized quarries and resource nodes in the formation of mobile herder exchange and alliance. Networks were an important risk-reduction strategy in unpredictable environments and helped facilitate the spread of African pastoralism.

Glass is Heavy, Too: Testing the Field-Processing Model at the Modena Obsidian Quarry, Lincoln County, Southeastern Nevada

The field-processing model (FPM) relates degree of resource processing at procurement site to round-trip travel distance. Typically applied to food getting, its extension to stone tools is part of a larger trend to broaden the scope and strengthen the theoretical foundation of inference from lithic data. This trend guided the FPM's application at the Modena obsidian quarry in the Great Basin, which follows earlier analyses by comparing the proportion by reduction stage of biface preforms between quarry and outlying sites and the technological characteristics of debris assemblages. It also uses two ratio-scale methods, slope of the regression of preform weight upon the first principal-component of linear dimensions, which declines with reduction, and slope of cumulative-count of flakes upon flake size, which increases with reduction. Results support the FPM and previous studies that document early-stage reduction at quarries vs. later-stage reduction across the landscape. The essential next step in FPM testing requires data on pattern and extent of biface reduction as a continuous function of distance from source. As useful as are existing measures and approaches, newly defined ratio-scale measures can particularly expedite testing of the FPM in its continuous terms.

SCALE OF PRODUCTION AT PREHISTORIC QUARRIES: A PILOT STUDY IN EXTENDING THE “ANALYTICAL CORE UNIT” CONCEPT

Prehistoric toolstone quarries often contain dense deposits of flake debris. Flakes can be sampled efficiently using standard probabilistic techniques in order to estimate their quantity. But the number of cobbles reduced to produce that debris is an equally valid measure of production scale. It cannot be estimated directly, partly because many cobbles are reduced to blanks and preforms that were exported from the quarries. “Analytical Core Concept” (ACU) relates count of particular kinds of flakes to weight loss experienced by the cobbles reduced to generate them. We use their and other experimental data that relate number of all flakes to cobble weight loss to generate two independent ACU estimates drawn from the Modena obsidian quarry in Nevada, USA. The estimates produce similar results, which suggest a robust relationship between cobble weight loss and flake quantity that can be applied elsewhere to measure production scale at quarries.

Prehistoric and early historic agriculture at Maunga Orito, Easter Island (Rapa Nui), Chile

A long section adjacent to a former obsidian quarry on Easter Island (Rapa Nui) reveals a sequence of agricultural strategies, beginning with the clearing of palm trees in the twelfth century AD, and the making of an open garden growing yams and taro, that continued through the fifteenth century. The later phases between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries include veneer and boulder gardens that reflect the broader strategy employed by the islanders to fight the increasingly arid soil.

PIXE reveals that two Murillo’s masterpieces were painted on Mexican obsidian slabs

Two paintings by Murillo from the Louvre Museum entitled Agony in the garden and Penitent St. Peter kneeling before Christ and the column were analysed by PIXE to identify the nature of their unusual dark mineral backing. Considered until now as black marble, this support turns out to be obsidian, with an almost identical elemental composition for the two works. This composition was compared to that of six Mesoamerican unpainted obsidians labelled “smoking mirrors” with comparable size and shape from the Paris Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle and Musée de l’Homme and to that of geological samples from five Mexican sources. The trace element contents of Murillo’s obsidians, in particular those of Mn, Zr, Sr, Y, Rb, Zr, Nb and Zn appeared to be very similar to that of four smoking mirrors and to that of obsidians from the Ucareo-Zinapécuaro source in central Mexico, an important complex of obsidian quarries exploited since pre-Hispanic times. A literature survey showed no such similarity with obsidians from other Mesoamerican sources or even from Mediterranean and surroundings source-areas. This study points out that Murillo, although living in Sevilla, had occasionally employed for his paintings materials shipped from the New World to Spain.

Bulk element composition versus trace element composition in the reconstruction of an obsidian source system

Abstract It has become possible, through compositional analysis, to differentiate among discrete obsidian quarry and collecting localities within a single source area. The analytical potential of such information is considerable yet studies are seldom undertaken owing to the difficulties associated with trace element analysis. This study is intended to explore the feasibility of using bulk element data instead of trace element data in such compositional analyses. Techniques of bulk element analysis are far more accessible to archaeologists. The results of an experiment utilizing carefully controlled samples from the El Chayal obsidian source, Guatemala, are reported and discussed.

A study of mesoamerican obsidian sources using activation analysis

An extensive study of Mesoamerican obsidian source samples from 37 sites has been begun to better differentiate and define the trace element content at known Mesoamerican obsidian quarries, with particular emphasis on those in Mexico. This paper reports on the first results in that study as well as studies of sample contamination by grinding and results for the new National Bureau of Standards No. 278 Obsidian SRM.

A Specialized Obsidian Quarry at Otumba, Mexico: Implications for the Study of Mesoamerican Obsidian Technology and Trade

Compte rendu d'une visite, effectuee avec un groupe d'etudiants en archeologie de Mexico, a la carriere d'obsidienne d'Otumba. Comparaison avec d'autres sources d'obsidienne d'Amerique centrale. L'etude simultanee de la technologie de l'obsidienne et des carrieres d'obsidienne interesse le probleme des routes commerciales, de la specialisation artisanale et de l'organisation socio-politique de la region entourant la source d'obsidienne.

Macrocore Production at the Melos Obsidian Quarries

(1979). Macrocore Production at the Melos Obsidian Quarries. Lithic Technology: Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 51-60.

A Preliminary Shoreline Survey of Lima Reservoir: Archaeology in the Centennial Valley of Southwestern Montana

During the summer of 1974 an archaeological reconnaissance of the Centennial Valley, located in Southwestern Montana, resulted in the location of 35 archaeological sites. These sites include occupation sites, tipi rings, and three obsidian quarries—the first verified obsidian sources in Montana. Numerous artifacts were recovered from these sites. Projectile points of the Cody Complex, McKean Complex and numerous corner-notched varieties indicate a long period of occupation of the Centennial Valley. Preliminary analysis of the obsidian, recovered as artifacts or debitage from sites in the valley, indicates extensive use of the Centennial quarries as well as a heavy reliance on sources outside the valley.

Obsidians from the Melka-Konture prehistoric site, Ethiopia

Obsidian artifacts from the Melka-Konture site about 50 km south of Addis Ababa span the period from Oldowan to Late Stone age. A number of specimens from different levels have been examined petrographically and for their chemical compositions. All prove to be alkali rhyolite obsidians of virtually identical composition and petrographic character, differing only in degree of devitrification and hydration. They belong to Group 1g of Renfrew et al. (1966) and it is almost certain that their source is the nearby obsidian quarry at Baltchit. This seems to have been opened in a short flow which appears to be unrelated to the large extinct Recent volcano, Wachacha, which lies to the north-west.

A Reassessment of the Precolumbian Obsidian Industry of El Chayal, Guatemala

M. Coe and K. Flannery (1964) a decade ago presented an account of their brief reconnaissance of a portion of the massive El Chayal obsidian quarry and workshop near Guatemala City. Noting the lack of ceramic artifacts and obsidian prismatic blades, Coe and Flannery reasoned that the workshop materials likely predated the Formative, and concluded that a date in the Archaic was the most probable. Their reasoning evidently was based on two fallacious assumptions, which, considered in the light of new data from Chalchuapa, El Salvador, indicates that the majority of the El Chayal artifacts described and illustrated actually date to the end of the Late Classic and particularly to the Postclassic (ca. A.D. 800-1500). Comments on technological analysis and basic illustration standards are included.