essay

Raw materials and sources

ancient chalcatzingoAustinPublished In 1987 • Pages: 336-386

By: Grove, David C..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Judging from some rather inconclusive sourcing studies done previously, Grove suggests that at the Olmec-influenced highland site of Chalcatzingo iron ores for pigment manufacture probably come from local sources, while mirrors mostly would have been imported in finished form. Through some new studies, it is strongly indicated that all obsidian used during the Formative period in Morelos State came from the Otumba and Paredon sources in the Teotihuacan Valley area, first passing through the Valley of Mexico; a distribution network probably largely separate from that for the Olmec core area on the Gulf Coast. Chalcatzingo could have functioned as the local importation, processing, and distribution center. The same is likely true of greenstone as described in Thomson: 1987 (Document 20) and Thomson: 1987 (Document 37). Kaolin, chert, and lime are not so readily sourced, but sources are near the site and could have been important in exchange. Granodiorite is available at the site and probably was used only there, for carving monuments.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Laboratory analysis of materials other than dating methods in archaeology
Mineral resources
Special deposits
Lithic industries
External trade
traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Olmec
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2000
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Middle America and the Caribbean
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Central Mexico
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
essay
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Archaeologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Leon G. Doyon ; 2007
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1972-1976
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
3500 BP-2500 BP
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
central-south highlands and Gulf Coast, Mexico
NotesAdditional notes
David C. Grove
For bibliographical references see Grove: 1987 (Document 3)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
85022673
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Olmecs