Obsidian and the Teotihuacan State cover
Memoirs in Latin American Archaeology, No. 21
University of Pittsburgh Latin American Archaeology Publications
2008. 228 pp. ISBN: 978-1-877812-86-6

Obsidian and the Teotihuacan State: Weaponry and Ritual Production at the Moon Pyramid

La obsidiana y el Estado teotihuacano: La producción militar y ritual en la Pirámide de la Luna

by / por David M. Carballo, with contribution by Rodrigo Nestor Paredes Cetino

Archaeological study of the emergence of the ethnohistorically documented Quijos chiefdoms in the eastern Ecuadorian Andes. This research evaluates links between the emergence of centralized leadership and the organization of agricultural production. The focus is on reconstructing the demographic history of 137 km2 based on a full coverage systematic survey, and on reconstructing patterns of food production and consumption based on analysis of pollen, phytoliths and plant macroremains from the excavation of 31 tests at locations representing different environmental settings and settlement types. The study proposes a sequence starting at about 600 B.C., with the first manifestations of a regional system of centralized authority appearing after about 500 A.D. Neither control of basic resources nor specialized craft production seem to have been important in the social and political dynamics of the emerging Quijos chiefdoms. Complete text in English and Spanish.

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