Chemical analysis of Olmec and Epi-Olmec Obsidian at Tres Zapotes

What is it about?

The volcanic glass, obsidian, was widely traded in ancient Mexico and Central America, where it was used to make exceedingly sharp blades, as well as other utilitarian and ritual artifacts. This is the first study to chemically source a statistically representative sample from well-documented excavation contexts at Tres Zapotes, an important center of the Olmec (1250-400 BC) and Epi-Olmec (400 BC-AD 300) cultures. Unlike more easterly sites, Tres Zapotes used obsidian exclusively from a handful of sources in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, with the exception of the Late Formative period (400-1 BC), when about 7% of the obsidian was imported from Guatemala.

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Why is it important?

Our study supports an model of political economy in which Olmec communities exercised considerable autonomy in negotiating exchange relations with distant lands. Furthermore, it suggests that Olmec elites as well as their Epi-Olmec successors at Tres Zapotes exercised little control over the procurement and distribution of obsidian, or of the technology used to create artifacts from the material. We argue that significant limits existed on the power, authority, and economic reach of Olmec rulers.