Hostname: page-component-55f67697df-jr75m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-05-21T16:37:16.056Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Expanding the Role of Trace-Element Studies: Obsidian Use in the Late and Terminal Classic Periods at the Lowland Maya Site of Colha, Belize

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2008

Meredith L. Dreiss ,
David O. Brown ,
Thomas R. Hester  and
Michael D. Glascock
Meredith L. Dreiss
Affiliation:
Texas Archaeological Research Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78758, USA
David O. Brown
Affiliation:
Hicks & Co., Austin, TX 78701, USA
Thomas R. Hester
Affiliation:
Missouri University Research Reactor, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
Michael D. Glascock
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The results of trace-element analysis of 200 prismatic blades from Colha, Belize, are reported. Questions concerning possible elite control and restriction of obsidian distribution, and the relative decline and increase of the El Chayal and Ixtepeque sources in varying functional contexts within lower- and upper-status areas are the primary focus of the study. Contrary to expectations, a high percentage (51%) of obsidian was assigned to the Ixtepeque source, 48% was assigned to El Chayal, and only two samples (1%) were assigned to Rio Pixcaya. The use of obsidian from the Ixtepeque source declines through time from Tepeu 2 through Tepeu 3 from 72% to 43%, and Ixtepeque obsidian appears to have had a largely ceremonial use by the Terminal Classic period. It appears that as Ixtepeque obsidian became less available at the site, it fell more into the hands of the elite. This trend runs counter to our expectations of an apparent lack of elite control of Ixtepeque obsidian in the Postclassic. The Colha data suggest that a slightly different process may have governed the distribution of Ixtepeque obsidian in the Late/Terminal Classic than during the Postclassic period. It is not clear, however, whether this trend extends to regional differences in control or is simply a local idiosyncratic phenomenon at Colha.

Type
Special Section: Recent Research on Obsidian in Mesoamerica
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 4 , Issue 2 , Fall 1993 , pp. 271 - 283
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Adams, Richard E.W. 1982 Rank Size Analysis of Northern Belize Maya Sites. In Archaeology at Colha, Belize: The 1981 Interim Report, edited by Hester, Thomas R., Shafer, Harry J., and Eaton, Jack D., pp. 60–64. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio, and Centro Studi e Ricerche Ligabue, Venice.Google Scholar
Arnauld, M. Charlotte 1990 El comercio clásico de obsidiana: Rutas entre tierras altas y tierras bajas en el área maya. Latin American Antiquity 1: 347–367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asaro, F., Michel, H.V., Sidrys, R., and Stross, F. 1978 High-Precision Chemical Characterization of Major Obsidian Sources in Guatemala. American Antiquity 43: 436–443.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baxter, Kevin 1984 Obsidian Source Analysis and the Economy of Tipu, Belize. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Anthropological Association, Hartford, CT.Google Scholar
Bettinger, Robert L. 1982 Aboriginal Exchange and Territoriality in Owens Valley California. In Context for Prehistoric Exchange, edited by Ericson, Jonathan E. and Earle, Timothy K., pp. 103–127. Academic Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, John E., and Lee, Thomas A. Jr. 1984 Formative Obsidian Exchange and the Emergence of Public Economies in Chiapas, Mexico. In Trade and Exchange in Early Mesoamerica, edited by Hirth, Kenneth G., pp. 235–274. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Cobean, R.H., Coe, M., Perry, E., Turekian, K., and Kharkar, D. 1971 Obsidian Trade at San Lorenzo, Tenochtillan, Mexico. Science 174: 666–671.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dreiss, Meredith L. 1988 Obsidian at Colha, Belize: A Technological Analysis and Distributional Study Based on Trace Element Data. Papers of the Colha Project Vol. 4. Jointly published by Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, University of Texas, Austin, and Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio.Google Scholar
Dreiss, Meredilh L. 1989 An Obsidian Distribution Model for the Belize Periphery. In Coastal Maya Trade, edited by McKillop, H. and Healy, P., pp. 79–90. Occasional Papers in Anthropology No. 8. Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario.Google Scholar
Dreiss, Meredith L., and Brown, David O. 1989 Obsidian Exchange Pallerns in Belize. In Prehistoric Maya Economies of Belize, ediled by McAnany, Palricia A. and Isaac, Barry L., pp. 57–90. Research in Economic Anlhropology, supplement No. 4. JAI Press, Greenwich, CT.Google Scholar
Eaton, Jack D. 1980 Operation 2011: Investigations Within the Main Plaza of the Monumental Center at Colha. In The Colha Project Second Season 1980 Interim Report, edited by Hester, Thomas R., Eaton, Jack D., and Shafer, Harry J., pp. 145–162. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio, and Centro Studi e Ricerche Ligabue, Venice.Google Scholar
Eaton, Jack D. 1982 Colha: An Overview of Architecture and Settlement. In Archaeology at Colha, Belize: The 1981 Interim Report, edited by Hester, Thomas R., Shafer, Harry J., and Eaton, Jack D., pp. 11–20. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Amonio, and Cenlro Studi e Ricerche Ligabue, Venice.Google Scholar
Escobedo, James T. Jr. 1980a Excavations at Operation 2008. In The Colha Project Second Season 1980 Interim Report, edited by Hester, Thomas R., Eaton, Jack D., and Shafer, Harry J., pp. 105–120. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio, and Centro Studi e Ricerche Ligabue, Venice.Google Scholar
Escobedo, James T. Jr. 1980b Notes on Test Excavations at Operation 4026. In The Colha Project Second Season 1980 Interim Report, edited by Hester, Thomas R., Eaton, Jack D., and Shafer, Harry J., pp. 105–120. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio, and Centro Studi e Ricerche Ligabue, Venice.Google Scholar
Ford, Anabel 1986 The Economic and Political Implications of Long Distance Trade in the Central Maya Lowlands: Analysis of Obsidian from BRASS. Grant Proposal #47.051 to the National Science Foundation. Manuscript on file, Social Process Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara.Google Scholar
Freidel, David 1978 Maritime Adaptations and the Rise of Maya Civilization: The View from Cerros, Belize. In Prehistoric Coastal Adaptations, edited by Stark, Barbara L. and Voorhies, Barbara, pp. 239–265. Academic Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freidel, David 1986 Terminal Classic Lowland Maya: Successes, Failures and Aftermaths. In Late Lowland Maya Civilization: Classic to Post-classic, edited by Sabloff, Jeremy and Andrews V, E Wyllys, pp. 409–430. School of American Research, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque..Google Scholar
Gibson, Eric C 1982 Investigations at Operation 1002, A Late Classic Maya Household Group at Colha, Belize. In Archaeology at Colha, Belize: The 1981 Interim Report, edited by Hester, Thomas R., Shafer, Harry J., and Eaton, Jack D., pp. 141–151. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio, and Centro Studi e Ricerche Ligabue, Venice.Google Scholar
Glascock, Michael D., Neff, Hector, Stryker, Katharine S., and Johnson, Taryn N. 1993 Sourcing Archaeological Obsidian by an Abbreviated NAA Procedure. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, in press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graham, John, Hester, Thomas R., and Jack, Robert 1972 Sources for the Obsidian at the Ruins of Seibal. Contributions of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility 16: 111–116.Google Scholar
Guderjan, Thomas H. 1988 Maya Maritime Trade at San Juan, Ambergris Cay, Belize. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas.Google Scholar
Hammond, Norman 1972 Obsidian Trade Routes in the Maya Area. Science 178: 1092–1093.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hammond, Norman 1976 Maya Obsidian Trade in Southern Belize. In Maya Lithic Studies: Papers from the 1976 Belize Field Symposium, edited by Hester, T.R. and Hammond, Norman, pp. 71–82. Special Report No. 4. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio.Google Scholar
Hammond, Norman 1991 Cuello: An Early Maya Community in Belize. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Hammond, Norman, Neivens, Mary D., and Harbottle, Garman 1984 Trace Element Analysis of Obsidian Artifacts from a Classic Maya Residential Group at Nohmul, Belize. American Antiquity 49: 815–820.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Healy, Paul, McKillop, Heather, and Walsh, B. 1984 Analysis of Obsidian from Moho Cay, Belize: New Evidence on Classic Maya Trade Routes. Science 225: 414–417.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heizer, Robert, Williams, H., and Graham, John 1965 Notes on Mesoamerican Obsidians and Their Significance in Archaeological Studies. Contributions of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility 1: 94–103.Google Scholar
Hester, Thomas R. 1983 A Preliminary Report on the 1983 Investigations at Colha. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio.Google Scholar
Hester, Thomas R. (editor) 1979 The Colha Project, 1979: A Collection of Interim Papers. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio.Google Scholar
Hester, Thomas R., Eaton, Jack D., and Shafer, Harry J. (editors) 1980 The Colha Project, 1980 Interim Report. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio, and Centro Studi e Ricerche Ligabue, Venice.Google Scholar
Hester, Thomas R., Heizer, Robert, and Jack, Robert 1971 Technology and Geologic Sources of Obsidian from Cerro de las Mesas, Veracruz, Mexico, with Observations on Olmec Trade. Contributions of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility 13: 133–143.Google Scholar
Hester, Thomas R., Jack, Robert, and Heizer, Robert 1971 The Obsidian of Tres Zapotes. Contributions of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility 13: 65–132.Google Scholar
Hester, Thomas R., and Michel, Helen 1980 Geologic Sources of Obsidian Artifacts from the Site of Colha, Belize. In The Colha Project Second Season 1980 Interim Report, edited by Hester, Thomas R., Eaton, Jack D., and Shafer, Harry J., pp. 313–315. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio, and Centro Studi e Ricerche Ligabue, Venice.Google Scholar
Hester, Thomas R., and Shafer, Harry J. 1980 On Obsidian Supply at Colha, Belize. Current Anthropology 21: 810–811.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hester, Thomas R., and Shafer, Harry J. 1984 Exploitation of Chert Resources by the Ancient Maya of Northern Belize, Central America. World Archaeology 16: 157–173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hester, Thomas R., Shafer, Harry J., and Eaton, Jack D. (editors) 1982 Archaeology at Colha, Belize: The 1981 Interim Report. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio, and Centro Studi e Ricerche Ligabue, Venice.Google Scholar
Hughes, Richard E. 1978 Aspects of Prehistoric Wiyot Exchange and Social Ranking. Journal of California Anthropology 5: 53–66. 1986 Diachronic Variability in Obsidian Procurement Patterns in Northeastern California and Southcentral Oregon. Publications in Anthropology Vol. 17. University of California, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Hughes, Richard E. 1990 The Gold Hill Site: Evidence for Prehistoric Ceremonial Systems in Southwestern Oregon. In Living With the Land: The Indians of Southwest Oregon, edited by Hannon, Nan and Olmo, Richard K., pp. 48–55, Southern Oregon Historical Society, Medford.Google Scholar
Hughes, Richard E., and Bettinger, Robert L. 1984 Obsidian and Prehistoric Sociocultural Systems in California. In Exploring the Limits: Frontiers and Boundaries in Prehistory, edited by De Alley, Suzanne P. and Findlow, Frank, pp. 153–172. BAR International Series 223. British Archaeological Reports, Oxford.Google Scholar
Jack, Robert, and Heizer, Robert 1968 Finger Printing of Some Mesoamerican Obsidian Artifacts. Contributions of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility 5: 81–100.Google Scholar
Jack, Robert, Hester, Thomas R., and Heizer, Robert 1972 Geologic Sources of Archaeological Obsidian from Sites in Northern and Central Veracruz, Mexico. Contributions of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility 16: 117–122.Google Scholar
Jackson, Lawrence, and McKillop, Heather 1987 Maya Trade at Wild Cane Cay. Archaeology 40: 62–63.Google Scholar
Jackson, Thomas 1986 Late Prehistoric Obsidian Exchange in Central California. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.Google Scholar
Jackson, Thomas, and Love, Michael W. 1991 Blade Running: Middle Preclassic Obsidian Exchange and the Introduction of Prismatic Blades at La Blanca, Guatemala. Ancient Mesoamerica 2: 47–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, Jay 1976a Long Distance Obsidian Trade: New Data from the Western Periphery. In Maya Lithic Studies: Papers from the 1976 Belize Field Symposium, edited by Hester, Thomas R. and Hammond, Norman, pp. 83–90. Special Report No. 4. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio.Google Scholar
Johnson, Jay 1976b Chipped Stone Artifacts from the Western Maya Periphery. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.Google Scholar
King, Eleanor 1987 Overview of the 1987 Field Season at Colha, Belize. Friends of Archaeology Newsletter 4: 27–34. Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio.Google Scholar
King, Eleanor 1990 Maya Household Organization and the Problem of Isolated Mounds: A Perspective from Colha, Belize. Paper presented at the 55th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Las Vegas.Google Scholar
King, Eleanor, and Potter, Daniel 1994 Small Sites in Prehistoric Maya Socioeconomic Organization: A Perspective from Colha Belize. In Village Communities in Early Complex Societies, edited by Schwartz, Glenn M. and Falconer, Steven E.. Smithsonian Series in Archaeological Inquiry, Smithsonian Institute Press, Washington, DC, in press.Google Scholar
McKillop, Heather 1989 Coastal Maya Trade: Obsidian Densities at Wild Cane Cay. In Prehistoric Maya Economies of Belize, edited by McAnany, Patricia A. and Isaac, Barry L., pp. 17–56. Research in Economic Anthropology, supplement No. 4. JAI Press, Greenwich, CT.Google Scholar
Massey, Virginia 1989 The Human Skeletal Remains from a Terminal Classic Skull Pit at Colha, Belize. Papers of the Colha Project Vol. 3. Jointly published by Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, Univer sity of Texas, Austin, and Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station.Google Scholar
Masson, Marilyn 1991 Variations in Late Classic Craft Specialist Residential Groups and Lithic Workshop Composition at Colha, Belize. Paper presented at the 47th Annual Meeting of the International Congress of Americanists, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Moholy-Nagy, Hattula, and Nelson, Fred 1990 New Data on Sources of Obsidian Artifacts from Tikal Guatemala. Ancient Mesoamerica 1: 71–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moholy-Nagy, Hattula, Asaro, Frank, and Stross, Fred 1984 Tikal Obsidian Sources and Typology. American Antiquity 49: 104–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neivens, Mary B., Hammond, Norman, and Harbottle, Carman 1979 Maya Obsidian from Northern Belize: Source Attribution Resulting from Neutron Activation Analysis. Paper presented at the 19th International Symposium on Archaeometry and Archaeological Prospection, British Museum Research Laboratory and Institute of Archaeology, University of London, London.Google Scholar
Nelson, Fred 1985 Summary of the Results of Analysis of Obsidian Artifacts from the Maya Lowlands. Scanning Electron Microscopy 11: 631–649.Google Scholar
Nelson, Fred W., Nielson, Kirk K., Mangelson, Nolan F., Hill, Max W., and Matheny, Ray T. 1977 Preliminary Studies of the Trace Element Composition of Obsidian Artifacts from Northern Campeche, Mexico. American Antiquity 42: 209–225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, Fred W., Sidrys, Raymond, and Holmes, R.D. 1978 Trace Element Analysis by X-Ray Fluorescence of Obsidian Artifacts from Guatemala and Belize. In Excavations at Seibal, Department of Peten, Guatemala, Artifacts, edited by Willey, Gordon R., pp. 153–161. Memoirs of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology Vol. 14. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
Potter, Daniel R. 1980 Archaeological Investigations at Operation 2012. In The Colha Project Second Season 1980 Interim Report, edited by Hester, Thomas R., Eaton, Jack D., and Shafer, Harry J., pp. 173–184. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio, and Centro Studi e Ricerche Ligabue, Venice.Google Scholar
Potter, Daniel R. 1982 Some Results of the Second Year of Excavation at Operation 2012. In Archaeology at Colha, Belize: The 1981 Interim Report, edited by Hester, Thomas R., Shafer, Harry J., and Eaton, Jack D., pp. 98–122. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio, and Centro Studi e Ricerche Ligabue, Venice.Google Scholar
Rathje, William 1972 Praise the Gods and Pass the Metates: An Hypothesis of the Development of Lowland Rainforest Civilization in Mesoamerica. In Contemporary Archaeology, edited by Leone, Mark, pp. 365–392. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale.Google Scholar
Rice, Prudence M. 1984 Obsidian Procurement in the Central Peten Lakes Region, Guatemala. American Antiquity 50: 591–604.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rice, Prudence M. 1987 Economic Change in the Lowland Maya Late Classic Period. In Specialization, Exchange, and Complex Societies, edited by Brumfiel, Elizabeth and Earle, Timothy K., pp. 76–85. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Rice, Prudence M., Asaro, Michael F., and Stross, Fred 1985 Provenience Analysis of Obsidians from the Central Peten Lakes Region, Guatemala. American Antiquity 50: 591–604.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roemer, Erwin 1980 Operation 2007: A Preliminary Report on the Excavation of a Late Classic Lithic Workshop. In The Colha Project Second Season 1980 Interim Report, edited by Hester, Thomas R., Eaton, Jack D., and Shafer, Harry J., pp. 87–104. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio, and Centro Studi e Ricerche Ligabue, Venice.Google Scholar
Roemer, Erwin 1982 Investigations at Four Lithic Workshops at Colha, Belize: 1981 Season. In Archaeology at Colha, Belize: The 1981 Interim Report, edited by Hester, Thomas R., Shafer, Harry J., and Eaton, Jack D., pp. 75–84. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio, and Centro Studi e Ricerche Ligabue, Venice.Google Scholar
Santley, Robert S. 1984 Obsidian Exchange, Economic Stratification, and the Evolution of Complex Society in the Basin of Mexico. In Trade and Exchange in Early Mesoamerica, edited by Hirth, Kenneth G., pp. 43–86. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Shafer, Harry J., and Hester, Thomas R. 1991 Lithic Craft Specialization, and Product Distribution at the Maya Site of Colha, Belize. World Archaeology 23: 79–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sidrys, Raymond 1977 Mass Distance Measures for the Maya Obsidian Trade. In Exchange Systems in Prehistory, edited by Earle, Timothy K. and Ericson, Jonathan E., pp. 91–105. Academic Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sidrys, Raymond, and Kimberlin, Jerome 1979 Use of Maya Obsidian Sources Through Time: Trace Element Data from El Balsamo, Guatemala. Journal of Field Archaeology 6: 116–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sidrys, Raymond, Andresen, J., and Marcucci, D. 1976 Obsidian Sources in the Maya Area. Journal of New World Archaeology 1(5): 1–13.Google Scholar
Stark, Barbara L., Heller, Lynette, Glascock, Michael D., Elam, J. Michael, and Neff, Hector 1992 Obsidian-Artifact Source Analysis for the Mixteca Region, South-Central Veracruz, Mexico. Latin American Antiquity 3: 221–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steele, D. Gentry, Eaton, Jack D., and Taylor, A.J. 1980 The Skulls from Operation 2011 at Colha: A Preliminary Examination. In The Colha Project Second Season 1980 Interim Report, edited by Hester, Thomas R., Eaton, Jack D., and Shafer, Harry J., pp. 163–172. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio, and Centro Studi e Ricerche Ligabue, Venice.Google Scholar
Stross, Fred H., Sheets, Payson, Asaro, Frank, and Michel, Helen V. 1983 Precise Characterization of Guatemalan Obsidian Sources and Source Determination of Artifacts from Quirigua. American Antiquity 48: 323–346.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stross, Fred, Wyld, Weaver J., Heizer, Robert, and Graham, John 1968 Analysis of American Obsidian by X-Ray Fluorescence and Neutron Activation Analysis. Contributions of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility 5: 59–79.Google Scholar
Stryker, Katharine 1991 The Success of a Rapid Neutron Activation Analysis in Determining the Distribution of Obsidian in the Late Classic Period at the Maya Site of Colha, Belize. Paper presented at the Missouri Academy of Science Meeting,Fulton.Google Scholar
Valdez, Fred Jr, and Mock, Shirley B. 1991 Additional Considerations for Prehispanic Saltmaking in Belize. American Antiquity 56: 520–525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woerner, Michael C. 1980 Descriptive Analysis of the Obsidian from Operation 2012, 1980 Season. In The Colha Project Second Season 1980 Interim Report, edited by Hester, Thomas R., Eaton, Jack D., and Shafer, Harry J., pp. 301–312. Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas, San Antonio, and Centro Studi e Ricerche Ligabue, Venice.Google Scholar
Zeitlin, Robert N. 1982 Toward a More Comprehensive Model of Interregional Commodity Distribution: Political Variables and Prehistoric Obsidian Procurement in Mesoamerica. American Antiquity 47: 260–275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar