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Open NEJ Dissertation.Pdf The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School OBSIDIAN EXCHANGE AND PIONEER FARMING IN THE FORMATIVE PERIOD TEOTIHUACAN VALLEY A Dissertation in Anthropology by Nadia E. Johnson ©2020 Nadia E. Johnson Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2020 The dissertation of Nadia E. Johnson was reviewed and approved by the following: Kenneth G. Hirth Professor of Anthropology Dissertation Adviser Chair of Committee José Capriles Assistant Professor of Anthropology Kirk French Associate Teaching Professor of Anthropology Larry Gorenflo Professor of Landscape Architecture, Eleanor P. Stuckeman Chair in Design Timothy Ryan Program Head and Professor of Anthropology ii ABSTRACT: The Formative Period marked a period of rapid social change and population growth in the Central Highlands of Mexico, culminating in the emergence of the Teotihuacan state in the Terminal Formative. This dissertation explores several aspects of economic life among the people who occupied the Teotihuacan Valley prior to the development of the state, focusing on the Early and Middle Formative Periods (ca. 1500 – 500 B.C.) as seen from Altica (1200 – 850 B.C.), the earliest known site in the Teotihuacan Valley. Early Formative populations in the Teotihuacan Valley, and northern Basin of Mexico more broadly, were sparse during this period, likely because it is cool, arid climate was less agriculturally hospitable than the southern basin. Altica was located in an especially agriculturally marginal section of the Teotihuacan Valley’s piedmont. While this location is suboptimal for subsistence agriculturalists, Altica’s proximity to the economically important Otumba obsidian source suggests that other economic factors influenced settlement choice. The studies presented here examine both Altica’s role in networks of obsidian exchange and its agricultural suitability. Chapter 1 introduces the cultural context of the studies, addressing the major cultural and political developments of the Formative Period in Mesoamerica. Chapter 2 uses a combination of technological and geochemical data from obsidian assemblages at nine Formative sites in the Basin of Mexico, including Altica, to identify collections consistent with specialized obsidian processing or tool production. Two sites stood out. Coapexco, located in a constrained inlet to the Basin of Mexico, may have been a gateway site where obsidian and other goods from distant sources could be pooled before distribution to sites within the Basin. Altica showed no signs of having been involved in specialized tool production but may have been a locus for the storage or reduction of obsidian nodules from Otumba on their way to more distant consumer sites. Chapter 3 takes a wider view of obsidian exchange, using networks to visualize the role of obsidian from different Mesoamerican sources, namely Otumba, in exchange across Formative Mesoamerica. Otumba occupied a central role in Mesoamerican obsidian exchange, especially early in the Formative Period. Chapter 4 uses modern agronomic modeling to simulate the potential impacts of Formative farming practices on long-term agricultural suitability. The model’s results suggest that soil depletion, namely soil nutrient loss and erosion, would have rendered the land surrounding Altica unproductive within just a few decades without long fallow periods or considerable investment in slope and soil management. Chapter 5 summarizes the findings of this dissertation and discusses potential lines of fruitful future inquiry. iii Table of Contents List of Figures: ........................................................................................................................................... viii List of Tables: .............................................................................................................................................. ix Preface: ......................................................................................................................................................... x Acknowledgments: ...................................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Cultural Context: Introducing the Formative Period in Mesoamerica ................................................ 1 1.2 The Early Formative Period (1500-900 B.C.): ................................................................................... 4 1.2.1. Outside of Central Mexico: ......................................................................................................... 4 1.2.2 Central Mexico: ........................................................................................................................... 8 1.3 The Middle Formative (900-500 B.C.): ............................................................................................ 12 1.3.1 The Central Highlands ............................................................................................................... 12 1.3.2 The Middle Formative beyond the Central Highlands: .............................................................. 15 1.4 The Late (500-100 B.C.) and Terminal (100 B.C.-A.D. 100) Formative: ........................................ 16 1.4.1 Volcanism and Settlement during the Late Formative: .............................................................. 18 1.4.2 State Formation in Oaxaca: ........................................................................................................ 19 1.5 Climate and Environment in Formative Central Mexico: ................................................................. 20 1.6 Pre-Hispanic Agriculture in the Central Highlands: ......................................................................... 21 1.6.1 Rain-fed Agriculture: ................................................................................................................. 21 1.6.2 Terracing and Slope Management: ............................................................................................ 22 1.6.3 Chinampas: ................................................................................................................................ 23 1.6.4 Irrigation: ................................................................................................................................... 23 1.6.5 Other Agricultural Adaptations: ................................................................................................. 25 1.6.6 Technological Limitations: ........................................................................................................ 26 1.6.7 Factors Contributing to Intensification: ..................................................................................... 26 1.7 Factors Constraining Settlement: ...................................................................................................... 27 1.7.1 Wild Resource Availability: ....................................................................................................... 27 iv 1.7.2 Water: ......................................................................................................................................... 28 1.7.3 Soil, Slope, and Other Contributors to Agricultural Suitability: ................................................ 29 1.7.4 Non-Agricultural Economic Considerations: ............................................................................. 31 1.8 Formative Period Exchange Networks: ............................................................................................ 31 1.8.1 Mechanisms of Exchange: ......................................................................................................... 31 1.8.2 Logistical Limitations to Long-Range Trade: ............................................................................ 34 1.8.3 Exchange Relationships: ............................................................................................................ 35 1.9 Craft Specialization: .......................................................................................................................... 36 1.10 Domestic Economy: ........................................................................................................................ 37 1.11 Archaeometry and Exchange: ......................................................................................................... 40 1.12 Scope of Study: ............................................................................................................................... 41 Chapter 2: Altica, Coapexco, and the Role of Middlemen in Formative Obsidian Exchange .................... 43 2.1 Abstract: ............................................................................................................................................ 43 2.2 Introduction: ...................................................................................................................................... 43 2.3 Methods: ........................................................................................................................................... 44 2.4 The Spread of Prismatic Blade Technology: .................................................................................... 47 2.5 The Sites and Their Obsidian Assemblages: ....................................................................................
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