Obsidian source El Peceño: first results of technological, geochemical and spatial approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31048/1852.4826.v10.n0.13733Keywords:
obsidian, lithic technology, geochemical studies, sources of procurement, southern MendozaAbstract
The primary source of obsidian El Peceño is located in the eastern plains of southern Mendoza and its use has been linked to archaeological contexts of late Holocene. Its geographical location, accessibility, and quality, provide advantageous characteristics of procurement when compared to other known sources of obsidian. However, the geographic dispersion of this source is narrower compared with other Andean obsidian sources. Previous geochemical studies permitted discriminating between two sub-sources called El Peceño-1 and El Peceño-2. Recent field sampling allowed locating outcrops of both sub-sources and of processing and extraction locations. In this paper, spatial and geochemical characterization of the sub-sources, their macroscopic particularities, and first trends of their technological analysis are presented. The results show differences in distribution spatial of the sub-sources and production activities corresponding to different varieties of El Peceño obsidian. Flake and preform production were probably the activities conducted at El Peceño-1, while cortex removal and core formalizing, were the main activities conducted at El Peceño-2. Finally, expectations for the most frequent mode of transportation of these varieties of obsidian and the perspectives for future work are presented.Downloads
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