Late Classic and Epiclassic Obsidian at Santa Cruz Atizapan, Toluca Valley, México

Obsidian Exchange

The absence of high quality obsidian within the Toluca Valley meant that its residents had to rely on a network of obsidian exchange to obtain the basic tools they needed for performing everyday tasks. At the inception of human settlement in the Chignahuapan lake region during the Late Classic period (A.D. 500), it appears that this network was secured by the leaders of Teotihuacán who in return desired the lacustrine products of the marshland regions. Green obsidian from the Sierra de las Navajas mines was imported as prismatic blades, bifaces and large flake tools. During the Middle and Late Classic periods, obsidian workshops were one of the most developed industries at Teotihuacán. Obsidian from the earliest occupation levels at the Santa Cruz Atizapan site support the argument for a Teotihuacán based exchange network. Ceramics provide much stronger evidence linking the Toluca Valley and the Valley of México. Numerous Teotihuacán clay figurines were imported to the site along with Teotihuacán style pottery and locally manufactured copies of Teotihuacán pottery. Throughout much of its history the population of the Toluca Valley is intricately tied to the Valley of México and thus much of its material culture reflects that connection.

At around A.D. 650, the breakdown of Teotihuacán trade networks caused significant turmoil for much of México’s Central Highland region. As the reliable supply of green obsidian becomes less and less secure, the Santa Cruz Atizapan people look north to the obsidian sources in the current state of Michoacán. The obsidian from the Ucareo and Zinapecuaro sources is widely traded throughout the highland region of México during the Epiclassic period. We are not sure who brought the obsidian to the region but we are fairly sure that it was not directly procured by the local people. There is again, evidence for the continued importation of prismatic blades, but we also begin to see larger macroblades and a more varied assemblage of artifacts made from large flakes and modified macroblades. It does not appear that the subsistence technology changed because it was still tied to the local lacustrine environment. Rather, it appears that the exceedingly formalized Teotihuacán obsidian trade network was replaced by a less structured and flexible system from the north that offered a greater variety of materials to valley residents. We must keep in mind that during the Epiclassic, the Santa Cruz Atizapan site was one component of the La Campana-Tepozoco complex which probably controlled the southeastern part of the Toluca Valley. Perhaps this political power allowed them to dictate the types and quantities of obsidian tools imported by itinerant traders. The significance of these shifting obsidian networks is still to be fully explored once the sourcing studies and a more detailed contextual study are completed.

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