MSU Department of Anthropology Assistant Professor Dr. Kurt Rademaker and co-authors Dr. Richard Burger (Yale University), Eisei Tsurumi (University of Tokyo), Matthew Boulanger (Southern Methodist University), Véronique Bélisle (Millsaps College), and Michael D. Glascock (University of Missouri) report the discovery and geochemical characterization of a new source of obsidian in southern Peru. The team tracks the transfer of this obsidian across the Andes to multiple archaeological sites in the valley of Cusco. This research provides new information on past use of geologic resources and reveals ancient social connections across the Andean highlands.
Read the full article at: https://doi.org/10.1080/00776297.2022.2029157
Abstract: “This article reports the identification of the Sayrosa Source, a minor geologic source of volcanic glass referred to Rare Type-3 obsidian in the 1977 pilot study by Burger and Asaro. Located only 25 km northeast of the major Alca-1 deposit, this source was exploited in prehispanic times despite the relatively small size of its nodules. Occasional flakes and bifaces of Sayrosa obsidian appear at archaeological sites in the puna of Chumbivilcas and the Cusco Valley probably as the by-product of llama caravans carrying other goods such as meat, wool, salt and Alca obsidian from the high grasslands of northern Arequipa to the agricultural communities of Cusco.”