No. 61 (2020)
Artículos

La economía de la lítica tallada y las élites en Mesoamérica prehispánica: el caso de Xochicalco durante el Epiclásico

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  • Bradford W.Andrews,
  • Michael D. Glascock
Bradford W.Andrews
Pacific Lutheran University
Michael D. Glascock
Pacific Lutheran University

Published 2022-09-22

Keywords

  • Xochicalco,
  • obsidian,
  • flaked stone tools,
  • craft produccion,
  • political economy

How to Cite

La economía de la lítica tallada y las élites en Mesoamérica prehispánica: el caso de Xochicalco durante el Epiclásico. (2022). Arqueología, 61, 70-90. https://revistas.inah.gob.mx/index.php/arqueologia/article/view/18329

Abstract

One of Mexico’s most impressive Prehispanic cities is Xochicalco, which became a powerful polity during the turbulent Epiclassic period (A.D. 650-900). One of many relatively recent archaeological projects at the site, the Proyecto Especial Xochicalco (PEX) resulted in the excavation of Xochicalco’s civic-ceremonial core. This article analyzes and interprets the obsidian artifacts recovered by the PEX. It describes the obsidian sources and technologies represented in this assemblage, in addition to the apparent functional use of its implements. This study concludes that Xochicalco’s ruling elite were not directly involved in the flaked stone tool economy. Instead, elites probably provisioned themselves with obsidian implements in the city’s central marketplace like everyone else. The conclusion that the elites had little or no involvement in this dimension of the economy differs from what has been reported for some Mesoamerican polities. Hence, these findings represent important comparative information relevant for understanding how the craft production of flaked stone tools in Mesoamerican political economies varied over space and time.

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