2021/07/08 by Clint S. Lindsay · 1 voice
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Social Sciences · #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies #Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
paper · doi:10.1080/00231940.2021.1929715
openalex publication_date 2021/07/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2025/11/06
pXRF analysis is used to identify the geographic origins of obsidian artifacts from a seventeenth-century New Mexico Spanish homestead. Socio-economic factors that may have influenced the presence of obsidian sources found at the site are then examined. The analysis provides a needed starting point to begin addressing questions concerning the incidence of obsidian and other flaked lithics recovered at early Spanish sites in the region and demonstrates the potential of obsidian to investigate broader historical archaeological and anthropological issues. I conclude that interpretations concerning the presence of lithic artifacts at Spanish sites need to move beyond functional explanations (e.g. lack of metal or material properties) and, instead, incorporate analysis with documentary evidence (when available) and larger social and economic contexts.