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Despite being sharper, prismatic obsidian is also considerably more brittle than steel; obsidian blades of the type used on the macuahuitl tended to shatter on impact with other obsidian blades, steel swords or plate armour. Obsidian blades also have difficulty penetrating European mail. The thin, replaceable blades used on the macuahuitl were ...
Morphologically, obsidian was worked into a variety of tool forms, including knives, lance and projectile points, prismatic blades, general bifacial tools, and utilized flakes. Blades have been found in situ with rabbit, rodent, and mollusk remains, indicating their use in butchery. The practical use of obsidian is obvious considering that the ...
Obsidian blade example. Wild Cane Cay on the northern Belizean coast also operated as a trade port focused on foreign obsidian distribution. Seashells, particularly conch and spondylus, were prized for both ritual usage and elite adornment. Modern strontium isotope analysis provides a means for sourcing shells trade to interior Maya settlements.
Raw obsidian and obsidian blades, examples of Maya commodities, As trade grew in the Postclassic period, so did the demand for commodities. Many of these were produced in large specialized factory-like workshops around the empire, and then transported elsewhere mostly by sea due to poor roads and heavy cargo. [ 16 ]
Many of the obsidian shards used for macanas were prismatic blade segments, which are among the most abundant lithics at late sites in the Maya lowlands. [1] Archeology in sites with macana remains has revealed that some sites, particularly those with large numbers of segments, had bimodal – smaller (ca. 8–10mm) and larger (ca. 20–24 +) – length distributions.
Obsidian spear tips, which were found extensively throughout the site, were the primary weapon used based on the number found at the site. Other weapons included darts and atlatl darts. The site reveals a key feature of Mayan war - that being the involvement of the royal elites in the manufacture and execution of warfare.
The original interpretation of the studded rope was that there were thorns attached, but this new evidence in context has caused the interpretation to shift. We now know that it was a rope studded with obsidian blades used in the ritual, and may have the very physical shards depicted themselves. Lady Xoc’s burial is known as Tomb 3.
As in Palenque, funerary offerings contain jade beads, obsidian blades and inscribed manta ray barbs. A funerary urn from Comalcalco. In late 2010, a survey of a site 2.8 km (1.7 mi) north of the Great Acropolis led to the discovery of the largest burial ground found in the region to date.