Is There Mahogany Obsidian in Northeastern Sonora, Mexico?

Journal Article · Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2017 · IAOS Bulletin

OSTI ID:1351199

Dolan, Sean Gregory  ^[1]; Shackley, M. Steven ^[2]

---

1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
2. Geoarchaeological XRF Lab., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

A piece of mahogany obsidian came to the attention of the senior author during an excavation project near the town of Mata Ortiz, Chihuahua, Mexico in 2015. Because mahogany obsidian in northwestern Mexico is particularly rare, the question was raised, what obsidian source did this sample derive? Here, using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometry, we demonstrate it comes from the Agua Fria obsidian source in northeastern Sonora, Mexico. Unfortunately, we do not know where this sample was collected from. We discuss these results and the significance of this find in this paper, but more investigation is certainly warranted.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Environment, Health, Safety and Security (AU)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC52-06NA25396
• OSTI ID: 1351199
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-17-21626
• Journal Information: IAOS Bulletin, Vol. 56; ISSN 2310-5097
• Publisher: International Association for Obsidian Studies
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
Earth Sciences
Obsidian
Mexico
Archaeology