The Organization of Chipped-Stone Economies at Piedras Negras ...

4.2.2: Color and Quality of El Chayal Obsidian at Piedras Negras
Another interesting pattern in types of obsidian can be found in quality and color.
Table 4.8 depicts the colors and quality types for El Chayal obsidian. I conducted a
similar study for El Chayal obsidian at Holmul (2005). The goal was to determine if
different areas of the El Chayal source were exploited through time and whether a
particular part of the site had access to finer obsidians than others. In the case of the
Holmul study area, which has a much greater time depth than Piedras Negras, or at least a
larger sample from each time period, differences were found in the kind and quality of El
Chayal obsidian through time.
The basic color varieties found at the El Chayal source were separated into two
types with subtypes, which include “smoky” obsidian, and smoky obsidian with specks,
grey bands, and black bands, and “clear” obsidian with specks, grey bands, and black
bands. Extremely high-quality obsidians marked by a high luster and flawless glass-like
quality were marked as “fine” obsidians. It is possible that much of the fine-quality
smoky obsidians come from the La Joya part of the El Chayal source that features a large
quantity of this color and quality type. These designations are largely subjective in nature
and only represent a preliminary attempt to look at source exploitation through time and
space.
The El Chayal obsidian from Cival (Preclassic) and Holmul (Late and Terminal
Classic) were similar in the percentages of smoky to clear color groups, and also in the
percentages of fine obsidians (marked with an “F” in Table 4.9).
126