Obsidian Craft Production at Cacaxtla-Xochitécatl, Tlaxcala
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Research Year:  2004
Culture:  Maya
Chronology:  Late Classic
Location:  Tlaxcala, México
Site:  Xochitécatl

Table of Contents

Abstract
Introduction
Methodology
Lithic Deposit LD-E2
Lithic Deposit LD-E1
Interpretations of Obsidian Craft Production on Cerro Xochitécatl
Craft Production on Terrace 5, Nativitas
Table 1. Major Obsidian Workshop Excavations in Mesoamerica
Table 2. Obsidian Debitage in Lithic Deposit LD-E2 and non-production areas in Edificio 2
Table 3. Obsidian Debitage in Lithic Deposit LD-E1 in Edificio 1
List of Photos
List of Figures
List of Tables
Sources Cited

Abstract

During the summer of 2004, funding by FAMSI permitted the reexamination and analysis of obsidian from these two obsidian concentrations. The purpose of this analysis was twofold. The first goal was to confirm whether these obsidian deposits represented the in situ remains of obsidian workshops. If they were workshops, then the second goal was to identify the social context of production. The location of these deposits within the Cerro Xochitécatl ceremonial core suggested that craft production was supervised or controlled by site elite (Blanco 1998). If they were, these deposits would represent one of the first documented examples of state-directed obsidian craft production excavated thus far in Central Mexico.

This report summarizes the results of analysis of flaked stone remains in the two possible obsidian workshops on Cerro Xochitécatl. These proposed workshops are identified here as lithic deposits LD-E1 and LD-E2 on the basis of their association with large public buildings in the Cerro Xochitécatl ceremonial core. The lithic remains from each of these areas are described and interpreted. An unanticipated outcome of this project was the identification and analysis of an additional craft production area on Terrace 5 at Nativitas, located two km southeast of Cerro Xochitécatl. Terrace 5 is a domestic residence that was incorporated in the Xochitécatl site during the Late Formative period.

Submitted 02/24/2005 by:
Kenneth G. Hirth
Penn State University
kgh2@psu.edu

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