Hundreds of Obsidian artifacts reveal evolution of the Aztec Empire

Hundreds of Obsidian artifacts revealed where the Aztecs They acquired volcanic glass they used for tools, ornamental pieces or religious objects for centuries – and their vast commercial networks included their rivals.

A new study of the 788 pieces is the largest sample of Obsidian artifacts ever analyzed by Tenochtitlán, which served as the capital of the Aztecs-also known as the Mexical people-according to the authors, who reported their discoveries on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Using portable X-ray fluorescence, a non-destructive way to identify geochemical fingerprints, researchers confirmed that the Mexicas had a preference for a specific green and gold obsidian to produce ritual items.

But the community also depended on everyday objects made from different types of obsidian, such as cutting and shaving blades, and therefore had to establish a complex economic system that encouraged long -distance trade with rival societies beyond its political borders, the researchers said.

“Although the Mexicas preferred green obsidian, the high diversity of types of obsidian, especially in the form of non-ritual artifacts, suggests that multi-sources obsidian tools arrived at the Empire’s capital through the market,” said the main author of the study, Diego Matadamas-Gomora, PhD in Anthropology at Tulane University in New Orleans, in a statement. “When studying where this material came from, we can explore the movement of goods by Mesoamérica.”

The research team was surprised by the variety of obsidian types found in the former capital, which surpasses the one found in other places in Mesoamérica. The discovery also sheds light on how Aztec society has evolved – introducing more standard religion and control before the fall of the Empire in 1520 – by showing how the use of the obsidian has changed over time.

Valuable stone

Aztecs did not discover the obsidian. It was already the most common gross material in Mesoamérica when they arrived in the Mexico basin in 1200, and the use of large-scale obsidian dates from the archaic period, which went from 6000 to 2000 BC for Mesoamerican societies, said-Gomora Matadamas.

Obsidian originated from a geological formation known as trans-mexican volcanic belt, which extends 1,000 kilometers from the west east in the center of Mexico, the study authors observed.

Artisans with experience in working with obsidian could shape volcanic glass in incredibly sharp instruments, according to the authors of the study. The natural reflectivity and brightness of the material also allowed the Mexic people to transform the obsidian into highly polished ornaments and religious objects.

The artifacts examined in the study were discovered during excavations that occurred over decades in the main Aztec temple of Tenochtitlán, called Mayor Temple, in what is today Mexico City. Almost 90% of these obsidian artifacts came from the Sierra de Pachuca mountain range, the study discovered.

For centuries, the Mexicas buried offerings of weapons and thumbnail jewelry within this sacred heart of the city. They considered green obsidian the most valuable of all kinds of obsidian due to its shade and called it “obsidian masters,” said Matadamas-Quomora.

Green Obsidian was also considered to have a symbolic connection with Tollan, a mythical city where the God Quetzalcoatl lived, which was believed to be the ancient origin of Mexico civilizations.

“Most obsidians are naturally gray or black,” said Matadamas-Gomora by email. “Pachuca’s Sierra Green Obsidian is unique and related to this specific geological source. Aztecs have recognized and valued this. In addition, the processes of geological formation in the Pachuca Sierra allowed the creation of high quality obsidian in this source, making it ideal for producing complex ornaments.”

The study highlights how non -destructive X -ray fluorescence spectrometry became important to archeology, said John Millhauser, an associate professor of sociology and anthropology at North Carolina State University. Millhauser was not involved in the new study. “Without it, we would not be able to study the stories of these artifacts in so much detail,” said Millhauser. “Although the technique has been widely used only in the last two decades, each new application adds a crucial piece to the puzzle of the old Mexic economy.”

A mutant empire

The other 10% of the artifacts were made using Obsidian from seven other places, including Otumba, Tulacingo, UCAREO and El Paraíso.

While Otumba and Sierra de Pachuca were controlled by the Aztec Empire, places such as UCAREO were beyond the political borders of the Empire, suggesting that the Mexicas did not restrict the flow of obsidian tools from rival regions to local markets, said Matadamas-Gomora.

In addition, the tools could be found in both rural and urban markets. The fact that people living in the heart of the capital depended on the same obsidian materials as villagers and farmers in the surrounding field was one of the most surprising discoveries of the study, Millhauser said, who also directs the Postgraduate Program in Anthropology at North Carolina State University.

“Considering that hundreds of thousands of people lived in the region, the scale of the obsidian supply and distribution network is extraordinary,” he said. “It’s a powerful reminder of how robust and comprehensive the economy of Central Mexico was 500 years ago, with commodities as a widely circulating Obsidian to meet the needs of communities throughout the region.”

At the beginning of the history of Aztecs, the obsidian for ritual and daily objects came from limited sources. But after the Aztec Empire defeat Azcapotzalco Tepanecs and start imperial expansion in 1430, the types of obsidian increased, showing how the Mexicas expanded their commercial networks, said Matadamas-Gomora.

“Later, between (1481 and 1486), the Mexicas were governed by a problematic, tIZOC Tlatoani (ruler) that destabilized the domain of the empire,” he said by email. “We see in this period that the diversity of obsidian was reduced to only two sources, Sierra de Pachuca and Otumba, which were historically the main sources of supply for the Mexicas. After 1486, when a new ruler came to power, the diversity of obsidian increased to seven sources. Therefore, our diachronic perspective on obsidian consumption revealed that the availability of this raw material was directly related to the transformations of the capital city. ”

Then, to better understand the former Obsidian trade, Matadamas-Gomora wants to find out how Obsidian moved by Mesoamérica, including other archaeological sites, and even Tenochtitlán came.

“Archaeologists still know surprisingly little about Tenōchtitlan, the Mexican capital, largely because it is under the modern expansion of Mexico City,” Millhauser said by email. “Each new study offers new insights on the lives of its former residents.”

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This content was originally published in hundreds of Obsidian artifacts reveal evolution of the Aztec Empire on the CNN Brazil website.

Source: CNN Brasil