Obsidian, a material used to make everyday tools, is helping to explain how economic and social relations functioned in pre-Hispanic Chiapas.
Its analysis is part of a research project led by archaeologist Roberto López Bravo.
This research has so far compiled 10 years of data collected in Chiapas.
“It’s a very important material in pre-Hispanic times, and the main product obtained from it is this: a prismatic blade.”
“This is a long-term research project; I think we’ll be concluding it in about four or five more years.”
Unlike traditional studies focused on temples, palaces, and rulers, this research focuses on the circulation of a basic resource for daily life.
The distribution of obsidian in different settlements has revealed that not all communities had the same access to this material, highlighting differences and dependencies between regions.
“We have different obsidian sources in various locations throughout Guatemala, which are very well identified, and there are other sources in central Mexico.”
The study demonstrates that Chiapas was not merely a transit territory, but a key point within broader trade routes.
Through the exchange of obsidian-crafted tools, connections were established between producing areas and consuming communities.
Currently, its use continues, but primarily in the realm of crafts.
“It’s not a material that can be controlled, as such, but it’s widely used to make reproductions and objects, bracelets—a material that can be obtained relatively easily.”
This approach allows us to understand that, more than a thousand years ago, the circulation of basic goods also influenced power relations and the organization of settlements.
Obsidian, beyond its practical use, thus becomes a fundamental piece for reconstructing how trade networks and social dynamics were structured in Chiapas’s past.
Source: meganoticias
