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LAPIDARY CRAFT PRODUCTION AT 17:S3E1 AND 18:S3E1, THE TLAJINGA DISTRICT, TEOTIHUACAN

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2019

Randolph J. Widmer
Randolph J. Widmer*
Affiliation:
Anthropology Program, Department of Comparative Cultural Studies, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204-5882
*
E-mail correspondence to: [email protected]
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Abstract

A total of 84 two-liter soil samples from Proyecto Arqueológico Tlajinga Teotihuacan (PATT) sites 17:S3E1, 18:S3E1, and the Street of the Dead excavations were fine-screened through 1-mm mesh and were sorted to retrieve tiny artifacts. The raw lapidary stone and marine shell material was then analyzed to assess the presence and intensity of artifact production. These data were also compared with the lapidary material of nearby 33:S3W1. A robust multicraft lapidary production was revealed. Sequins and stemmed trapezoid pendants were manufactured from slate, greenstone, marine shell, and mica, with slate being the predominant raw material being worked. A reduction sequence for slate sequins was developed based on the various shapes of slate materials that indicated the stages of production. Importantly, this lapidary craft production was not recognized from surface collections prior to excavation.

Type
Special Section: Urban Life on Teotihuacan's Periphery–New Research at the Tlajinga District
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , Spring 2019 , pp. 181 - 197
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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References

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