High-Precision Chemical Characterization of Major Obsidian Sources in Guatemala

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Abstract
The important Mesoamerican obsidian source El Chayal has been carefully explored and sampled. Forty new source specimens have been subjected to neutron activation analysis, and the composition patterns are recorded and compared. The westernmost of the known Guatemalan obsidian sources, Tajamulco, has also been studied. Precise analytical data are also reported for the important Ixtepeque and Rio Pixcaya sources. In addition, the complete analytical data for a group of artifacts in Belize excavated by Norman Hammond are reported and compared with the source compositions. The establishment in the literature of a library or collection of precise and intercomparable composition data for the sources of this general region is suggested, and the present paper is offered as a first contribution toward this objective.