Aztec obsidian industries
Files
Accepted manuscript
Date
2016
Authors
Pastrana, Alejandro
Carballo, David M.
Version
Embargo Date
2019-01-01
OA Version
Citation
A Pastrana, DM Carballo. 2016. "Aztec Obsidian Industries." The Oxford Handbook of the Aztecs, pp. 329 - 341.
Abstract
Obsidian was the primary lithic or stone material used for cutting activities in Aztec society, including domestic food production, craft production, hunting, warfare, and ritual. The demands of millions of consumers within and outside of the Aztec Empire shaped a diversity of industries and distribution networks that operated through merchants, markets, and state taxes in goods and labor. This chapter provides an overview of the primary obsidian sources, quarry activities, artifact types, use contexts, and innovations in lithic technology during the Aztec (Middle and Late Postclassic) period. A particular focus is the Sierra de Las Navajas (or Pachuca) mine and the detailed history of quarrying and manufacturing activities that have been documented there.
Description
License
"Aztec Obsidian Industries" by Alejandro Pastrana and David M. Carballo, 2016, reproduced by permission of Oxford University Press, (https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-the-aztecs-9780199341962?cc=gb&lang=en&#)