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THE OBSIDIAN BLADE SEQUENCE AT EL UJUXTE, A LATE PRECLASSIC SITE ON THE SOUTH COAST OF GUATEMALA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2006

C. Roger Nance  and
Jan de Leeuw
C. Roger Nance
Affiliation:
Costen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles, 3215 Fermi Drive, Topanga, CA 90290-4432, USA
Jan de Leeuw
Affiliation:
Department of Statistics, University of California, Los Angeles, Box 951554, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1554, USA
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Abstract

Systematic data on about 1,200 blades from this site were summarized in terms of three ceramic phases (defined by Love 2002b) for the same site. That is, we assigned blades to phases based on the ceramic content of each provenience. Regular phase-by-phase decreases occurred in blade dimensions, weights, and length-to-width ratios. We predicted these results based on earlier findings from the site of La Blanca (Nance and Kirk 1991). The trend appears also within the latest Pitahaya phase, even at the level of the excavation unit. Blade densities decrease through Pitahaya deposits, as well, and the blade sequence is discussed in terms of an increased scarcity of obsidian or obsidian blades traded to the region.

Type
Research Article
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , July 2005 , pp. 249 - 260
Copyright
© 2005 Cambridge University Press

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