Domestic obsidian production and consumption at the Middle Preclassic site of La Blanca, San Marcos, Guatemala

The La Blanca Obsidian Project analyzed material changes in household economy as a response to the development of centralized political authority in an early complex society in Ancient Mesoamerica. The collection studied came from the excavation of domestic contexts at the site of La Blanca, San Marcos, Guatemala dating to the Middle Preclassic Period, ca 900-600 BC. This study analyzed how various forms of obsidian were obtained through long-distance exchange, how obsidian was worked in households, and how the finished tools were utilized. La Blanca was a stratified society and thus the archaeological sample includes households of different socio-economic levels; the data represents differing economic strategies and the development of social inequality amongst elite and non-elite households in regards to a fundamental resource. In the case of this project domestic obsidian production and consumption.