Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-grxwn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-22T21:15:45.610Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Lapidary Craft Specialization at Teotihuacan: Implications for Community Structure at 33:S3W1 and Economic Organization in the City

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2008

Randolph J. Widmer
Randolph J. Widmer
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-5882, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Excavations in the Classic Period apartment compound, site 33:S3W1, in the ancient city of Teotihuacan, Mexico, have revealed the existence of two lapidary workshops. These workshops were spatially discrete and separate from domestic quarters and were located on the periphery of the compound, but still inside it, in open courtyard areas with packed earth surfaces. A number of stone grinding tools and work surfaces initially identified these areas as lapidary workshops. This assessment was confirmed by microartifact analysis of associated soil samples which indicate that a number of different raw material classes were used in the lapidary production. All of these materials, with the exception of basalt, are imported from outside of the valley of Mexico. Differential use of raw materials is present and appears to be based on the value of the commodity. Basalt and slate are the most common materials used, with greenstone and shell being the scarcest. The volume of raw material debitage is much greater than would be required for local consumption by the compound, suggesting that the lapidary artifacts were produced for exchange in the market of Teotihuacan. The scale of production, however, does not appear to be large enough to indicate that these materials were produced for long-distance exchange.

Type
Special Section: Urban Archaeology at Teotihuacan
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 2 , Issue 1 , Spring 1991 , pp. 131 - 147
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Altschul, J.H. 1987 Social Districts of Teotihuacan. In Teotihuacan: Nuevos datos, nuevas síntesis, nuevos problemas, edited by de Tapia, E. McClung and Rattray, E.C., pp. 191–218. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Mexico.Google Scholar
Brown, K.L. 1977 The Valley of Guatemala: A Highland Port of Trade. In Teotihuacan and Kaminaljuyu: A Study of Prehistoric Culture Contact. Edited by Sanders, W.T. and Michels, J.W., pp. 205–396. Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Google Scholar
Brumfiel, E.M. 1987 Elite and Utilitarian Crafts in the Aztec State. In Specialization, Exchange, and Complex Societies, edited by Brumfiel, E.M. and Earle, T.K., pp. 102–118. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Brumfiel, E.M., and Earle, T.K. 1987 Specialization, Exchange, and Complex Societies: An Introduction. In Specialization, Exchange, and Complex Societies, edited by Brumfiel, E.M. and Earle, T.K., pp. 1–9. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Clark, J.E. 1983 Mesoamerican Blade Workshops and Craft Specialization. Paper presented at the 48th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Pittsburgh.Google Scholar
Clark, J.E. 1986 From Mountains to Molehills: A Critical Review of Teotihuacan's Obsidian Industry. In Economic Aspects of Prehispanic Highland Mexico, Research in Economic Anthropology, Supplement 2, edited by Isaac, B.L., pp. 23–74. JAI Press, Greenwich, CT.Google Scholar
Cook de Leonard, C. 1971 Minor Arts of the Classic Period in Central Mexico. In Handbook of Middle American Indians, vol. 10, part 1, edited by Ekholm, G.F. and Bernal, I., pp. 206–227. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Cowgill, G.L. 1983 Métodos para el estudio de relaciones especiales en los datos de la superficie de Teotihuacan. In Teotihuacan: Nuevos datos, nuevas síntesis, nuevos problemas, edited by de Tapia, E. McClung and Rattray, E.C., pp. 161–190. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.Google Scholar
Cowgill, G.L., Altschul, J.H., and Sload, R.S. 1984 Spatial Analysis of Teotihuacan: A Mesoamerican Metropolis. In Intrasite Spatial Analysis in Archaeology, edited by Hietala, H., pp. 154–195. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Dibble, C.E., and Anderson, A.J.O. 1959 Florentine Codex, Book 11–Earthly Things. Monographs of the School of American Research and the Museum of Mexico, no. 14, part X. School of American Research, Santa Fe.Google Scholar
Dibble, C.E., and Anderson, A.J.O. 1963 Florentine Codex, Book 11–Earthly Things. Monographs of the School of American Research and the Museum of Mexico, no. 14, part XII. School of American Research, Santa Fe.Google Scholar
Drewitt, B. 1987 Measurement Units and Building Axes at Teotihuacan. In Teotihuacan: Nuevos datos, nuevas síntesis, nuevos problemas, edited by de Tapia, E. McClung and Rattray, E.C., pp. 389–398. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.Google Scholar
Fladmark, K.R. 1982 Microdebitage Analysis: Initial Considerations. Journal of Archaeological Science 9:208–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flannery, K.V., and Winter, M.C. 1976 Analyzing Household Activities. In The Early Mesoamerican Village, edited by Flannery, K.V., pp. 34–47. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Fustel de Coulange, N.D. 1864 The Ancient City. Doubleday, Garden City, NY.Google Scholar
Holmes, W.H. 1885 Archaeological Studies among the Ancient Cities of Mexico. Field Collection Museum, Anthropological Studies, vol. 1, Chicago.Google Scholar
Holmes, W.H. 1919 Handbook of Aboriginal American Antiquities, part 1, The Lithic Technologies. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 60. Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Hopkins, M.R. 1987 An Explication of the Plans of Some Teotihuacan Apartment Compounds. In Teotihuacan: Nuevos datos, nuevas síntesis, nuevos problemas, edited by de Tapia, E. McClung and Rattray, E.G., pp. 369–388. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, México.Google Scholar
Hull, K.L. 1987 Identification of Cultural Site Formation Processes through Debitage Analysis. American Antiquity 52:772–783.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, M.L. 1976 Identificación de jade y técnicas para trabajarlo en Mesoamérica. In Las fronteras de Mesoamérica, XIV Mesa Redonda 2:125–130. Sociedad Mexicana de Antropología, Mexico.Google Scholar
Kidder, A.V., Jennings, J.D., and Shook, E.M. 1946 Excavations at Kaminaljuyu. Publication 561, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Kolb, C.C. 1973 The Old Shell Game: A Mesoamerican Trade Network. Paper presented at the 38th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Kolb, C.C. 1988 Classic Teotihuacan Candeleros: A Preliminary Analysis. In Ceramic Ecology Revisited, 1987: The Technology and Socioeconomics of Pottery, edited by Kolb, C.C., part II, pp. 449–645. BAR International Series, Oxford.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krotser, P. 1979 The Production and Distribution of San Martin Orange Ware: An Example of Prehistoric Specialization. Paper presented at the 44th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Vancouver.Google Scholar
Krotser, P., and Rattray, E. 1980 Manufactura y distribución de tres grupos cerámicos de Teotihuacán. Anales de Antropología 17(1):91–104.Google Scholar
McClung de Tapia, E. 1982 Paleobotanical Analysis of 33:S3W1, Teotihuacan. Manuscript in possession of the author.Google Scholar
Metcalf, D., and Heath, K.M. 1990 Microrefuse and Site Structure: The Hearths and Floors of the Heartbreak Hotel. American Antiquity 55:781–796.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Millon, R. 1973 Urbanization at Teotihuacan, Mexico, vol. 1, part 1, Text. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Millon, R. 1976 Social Relations in Ancient Teotihuacan. In The Valley of Mexico, edited by Wolf, E., pp. 205–248. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Millon, R. 1981 Teotihuacan: City, State, and Civilization. In Supplement to the Handbook of Middle American Indians, Archaeology, edited by Bricker, V.R. and Sabloff, J.A., pp. 198–243. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Millon, R., Drewitt, B., and Cowgill, G.L. 1973 Urbanization at Teotihuacan: The Teotihuacan Map, vol. 1: Part Two. University of Texas, Austin.Google Scholar
Noguera, E. 1971 Minor Arts in the Central Valleys. In Handbook of Middle American Indians, vol. 10, part 1, edited by Ekholm, G.F. and Bernal, I., pp. 258–269. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Rathje, William L. 1970 Socio-Political Implications of Lowland Maya Burials. World Archaeology 1:359–374.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rattray, E. 1983 The San Martín Workshop at Tlajinga 33. Paper presented at the 48th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Pittsburgh.Google Scholar
Rattray, E. 1987 La producción y la distributión de obsidiana en el período Coyotlatelco en Teotihuacan. In Teotihuacan: Nuevos datos, neuvas síntesis, nuevos problemas, edited by de Tapia, E. McClung and Rattray, E.C., pp. 451–464. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.Google Scholar
Rosen, A.M. 1989 Ancient Town and City Sites: A View from the Microscope. American Antiquity 54:564–578.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanders, W.T., Parsons, J.R., and Santley, R.S. 1979 The Basin of Mexico: Ecological Processes in the Evolution of a Civilization. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Sanders, W.T., Storey, R., and Widmer, R.J. 1982 Tlajinga 33, An Apartment Compound of the Pre-Columbian City of Teotihuacan. Technical Report to the National Science Foundation, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Sanders, W.T., and Santley, R.S. 1983 A Tale of Three Cities: Energetics and Urbanization in Prehispanic Central Mexico. In Prehistoric Settlement Patterns: Essays in Honor of Gordon R. Willey, edited by Vogt, Evon Z. and Leventhal, Richard M., pp. 243–291. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Santley, R.S. 1983 Obsidian Trade and Teotihuacan Influence in Mesoamerica. In Highland-Lowland Interaction in Mesoamerica: Interdisciplinary Approaches, edited by Miller, Arthur, pp. 69–124. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Santley, R.S. 1984 Obsidian Exchange, Economic Stratification, and the Evolution of Complex Society in the Basin of Mexico. In Trade and Exchange in Early Mesoamerica, edited by Hirth, Kenneth, pp. 43–86. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Santley, R.S. 1988 Craft Specialization, Refuse Disposal, and the Creation of Spatial Archaeological Records in Prehispanic Mesoamerica. Paper presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Phoenix.Google Scholar
Saville, M.H. 1900 An Onyx Jar in the Process of Manufacture. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 13:105–107.Google Scholar
Saville, M.H. 1922 Turquoise Mosaic Art in Ancient Mexico. Contributions of the Museum of American Indians 6:31–33. Heye Foundation, NY.Google Scholar
Schiffer, M.B. 1972 Archaeological Context and Systemic Context. American Antiquity 37:156–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schiffer, M.B. 1976 Behavioral Archaeology. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Schiffer, M.B. 1987 Formation Processes of the Archaeological Record. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Sempowski, M.L. 1987 Differential Mortuary Treatment: Its Implications for Social Status at Three Residential Compounds in Teotihuacan, Mexico. In Teotihuacan: Nuevos datas, nuevas síntesis, nuevos problemas, edited by de Tapia, E. McClung and Rattray, E.C., pp. 115–132. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.Google Scholar
Sheehy, James J. 1986 Product Standardization and Ceramic Production in Tlajinga 33, A Potting Compound in Teotihuacan, Mexico. Paper presented at the 51st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Sheehy, James J. 1988 Ceramic Ecology and the Clay/Fuel Ratio: Modeling Fuel Consumption in Tlajinga 33, Teotihuacan. In Ceramic Ecology Revisited, 1987: The Technology and Socioeconomics of Pottery, edited by Kolb, Charles C., pp. 192–226. BAR International Series, Oxford.Google Scholar
Sjoberg, G. 1960 The Preindustrial City. The Free Press, New York.Google Scholar
Sinopoli, C.M. 1988 The Organization of Craft Production at Vijayanagara, South India. American Anthropologist 90:580–597.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spence, M.W. 1966 Los talleres de obsidiana de Teotihuacan. In Teotihuacan: XI Mesa Redonda, pp. 213–218. Sociedad Mexicana de Antropología, Mexico.Google Scholar
Spence, M.W. 1967 The Obsidian Industry of Teotihuacan. American Antiquity 32:507–514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spence, M.W. 1971 Skeletal Morphology and Social Organization in Teotihuacan, Mexico. Ph.D. dissertation, Southern Illinois University. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Spence, M.W. 1974 Residential Practices and the Distribution of Skeletal Traits in Teotihuacan, Mexico. Man 9:262–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spence, M.W. 1981 Obsidian Production and the State in Teotihuacan. American Antiquity 46:769–788.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spence, M.W. 1984 Craft Production and Early Polity in Teotihuacan. In Trade and Exchange in Early Mesoamerica, edited by Hirth, Kenneth, pp. 87–134. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Spence, M.W. 1987 The Scale and Structure of Obsidian Production in Teotihuacan. In Teotihuacan: Nuevos datos, nuevas síntesis, nuevos problemas, edited by de Tapia, E. McClung and Rattray, E.C., pp. 429–450. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.Google Scholar
Starbuck, David R. 1975 Man-Animal Relationships in Pre-Columbian Central Mexico. Ph.D. dissertation, Yale University. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan.Google Scholar
Storey, G.R. 1985 The Obsidian Assemblage of Tlajinga 33, Teotihuacan, Mexico. Unpublished M.A. thesis, Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.Google Scholar
Storey, R. 1983 The Paleodemography of Tlajinga 33: An Apartment Compound in Teotihuacan, Mexico. Ph.D. dissertation, Pennsylvania State University. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Storey, R. 1985 An Estimate of Mortality in a Pre-Columbian Urban Population. American Anthropologist 87:519–535.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Storey, R. 1986 Perinatal Mortality at Teotihuacan, Mexico. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 69:541–548.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Storey, R. 1987 A First Look at the Paleodemography of the Ancient City of Teotihuacan. In Teotihuacan: Nuevos dates, nuevas síntesis, nuevos problemas, edited by de Tapia, E. McClung and Rattray, E.C., pp. 91–114. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.Google Scholar
Storey, R., and Widmer, R.J. 1982 Excavations at Tlajinga 33. In A Reconstruction of a Classic Period Landscape in the Teotihuacan Valley, pp. 21–97. Final report to the National Science Foundation (Grant BNS8005754).Google Scholar
Storey, R., and Widmer, R.J. 1989 Household and Community Structure of a Teotihuacan Apartment Compound: S3W1:33 of the Tlajinga Barrio. In Households and Communities: Proceedings of the 21st Annual Chacmool Conference, edited by MacEachern, S., Archer, D.J.W., and Garvin, R.D., pp. 407–415. The Archaeological Association of the University of Calgary, Calgary.Google Scholar
Turner, Margaret H. 1983 The Lapidary Industry at Teotihuacan, Mexico. Paper presented at the 48th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Pittsburgh.Google Scholar
Turner, Margaret H. 1987 The Lapidaries of Teotihuacan. In Teotihuacan: Nuevos datos, nuevas síntesis y nuevos problemas, edited by de Tapia, E. McClung and Rattray, E.C., pp. 465–472. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.Google Scholar
Widmer, R.J. 1982 Teotihuacan: A Measurement of Long-Distance Trade at the Receiving End. Paper presented at the 44th International Congress of Americanists, Manchester, England.Google Scholar
Widmer, R.J. 1983 Craft Specialization at Tlajinga 33, Teotihuacan. Paper presented at the 48th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Pittsburgh.Google Scholar
Widmer, R.J. 1986 Production and Economic Distribution of Craft Items at Teotihuacan: Inferences from Tlajinga 33 and Maquixco Bajo. Paper presented at the 51st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Widmer, R.J. 1987 Evolution of Form and Function in a Teotihuacan Apartment Compound, Tlajinga 33. In Teotihuacan: Nuevos datas, nuevas sintesis y nuevos problemas, edited by de Tapia, E. McClung and Rattray, E.C., pp. 317–368. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.Google Scholar
Widmer, R.J., and Sheehy, J. 1990 Archaeological Implications of Architectural Changes in a Modern Potting Compound in Teotihuacan, Mexico. Paper presented at the 55th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Las Vegas.Google Scholar
Yerkes, R.W. 1983 Microwear, Microdrills, and Mississippian Craft Specialization. American Antiquity 48:499–518.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yerkes, R.W. 1989 Mississippian Craft Specialization in the American Bottom. Southeastern Archaeology 8:93–106.Google Scholar