Obsidian and the Teotihuacan State

Archaeological study detailing the excavation and analysis of obsidian workshop deposits located next to the Moon Pyramid at the ancient city of Teotihuacan, Mexico. The study suggests that greater insights into past cases of craft production are obtained by coupling technologically informed analyses with detailed consideration of the social, symbolic, and ideational dimensions within which production activities were embedded. Aspects of material culture associated with warfare and ritualized violence appear to have frequently formed part of the strategies of early state governance, serving to publicize political authority in a tangible form. Complete text in English and Spanish.