An Initial Consideration of Obsidian Procurement and Exchange in Prehispanic Ecuador
| Autor: | Helen V. Michel, Fred H. Stross, Richard L. Burger, Frank Asaro, Ernesto Salazar |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1994 |
| Předmět: |
010506 paleontology
Archeology History geography geography.geographical_feature_category 060102 archaeology Context (archaeology) biology Inga 06 humanities and the arts biology.organism_classification 01 natural sciences Archaeology Prehistory Procurement Cave Peninsula 0601 history and archaeology 0105 earth and related environmental sciences |
| Zdroj: | Latin American Antiquity. 5:228-255 |
| ISSN: | 2325-5080 1045-6635 |
| DOI: | 10.2307/971882 |
| Popis: | We have examined the role of long-distance trade in Prehispanic Ecuador using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and neutron-activation analysis (NAA) of obsidian artifacts from the archaeological sites of El Inga, Chobshi Cave and Site OGSE-46 on the Santa Elena Peninsula. Results indicate that two geological sources east of Quito, Yanaurco-Quiscatola and Mullumica, were the principal source of raw obsidian at these sites. We situate our findings within a broader archaeological context through a review of the literature and a discussion of an earlier provenience study undertaken by us. We express concerns about recent attempts to apply ethnohistoric models to early periods of Ecuadorian prehistory, and argue that despite early exploitation of the principal obsidian sources, long-distance trade in obsidian was initiated at a relatively late date and remained at a surprisingly low level in southern Ecuador during most of prehistory. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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