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An obsidian prismatic blade fragment from the Maya site of Chunchucmil. Due to its glassy internal structure, obsidian is relatively easy to work, as it breaks in very predictable and controlled ways via conchoidal fracturing. This contributed to its prolific use throughout Mesoamerica.
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 ...
These obsidian blades were used as the Mayans' primary cutting utensil. [12] During the 1890s in California, obsidian blades held significant cultural value and were seen as heirlooms within certain tribes. Many were reluctant to show these blades which were usually hidden away where only the owner knew the location until it was passed down. [13]
Most examples of eccentric flints have been recovered from caches interred under Maya monuments and buildings. [8] Thus, a cache under the altar of Copan's stela M, at the foot of the Hieroglyphic Stairway, rendered three identical eccentric flints, each shaped like a human figure extending into a tang and evincing six human head outgrowths. [10]
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.
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Maya pendant in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Map showing the locations of some of the main jade, obsidian and serpentine sources in Mesoamerica. The archaeological search for the Mesoamerican jade sources, which were largely lost at the time of the Maya collapse, began in 1799 when Alexander von Humboldt started his geological research in the New World.
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