essay

Investigation of an obsidian midden at Cihuatecpan, Mexico

excavations at cihuatecpan, an aztec village in the teotihuacan valley • (36) • Published In 1988 • Pages: 235-238

By: Abrams, Elliot Marc.

Abstract

In the course of conducting the settlement survey and excavation of structures and features at the Aztec village of Cihuatecpan in 1984, two dense concentrations of obsidian debitage were encountered, and one of these, designated Operation 8, was investigated further, forming the basis of this article. The first part of this investigation involved the collection of artifacts - both obsidian and non-obsidian - from the surface of the site, followed by a test excavation of the feature itself. The quantity of obsidian, both in absolute weight and in density, clearly indicates that this feature was a midden deposit. The overwhelming presence of pressure and percussion flakes in the midden indicates that it served as the refuse area in the production of grey-black obsidian bifacial tools (p.237).

HRAF PubDate

2009

Region

Middle America and the Caribbean

Sub Region

Central Mexico

Document Type

essay

Evaluation

Creator Type

Archaeologist

Document Rating

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

John Beierle; 2008

Field Date

1984

Coverage Date

1300-430 BP (700-1570 AD)

Coverage Place

Cihuatecpan, Mexico

Notes

by Elliot M. Abrams

for bibliographical references see document 8:Evans

LCCN

89218802

LCSH

Aztecs--Antiquities/Land settlement patterns, Prehistoric--Mexico/Cihuatecpan Site (Mexico) Mexico, Valley of (Mexico)--Antiquities