Trace Element Analysis of Obsidian Artifacts from Three Shell Midden Sites in the Littoral Zone, Chiapas, Mexico

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Abstract
Forty-two obsidian artifacts from the Chantuto Zone, Chiapas, Mexico, have been analyzed by neutron activation analysis, and fifteen artifacts were reanalyzed using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. These artifacts date to the Chantuto phase (3000-2000 B.C.), late in the Archaic period, and to a later period or periods. These analyses have made it possible to compare the two methods of analysis and also have made it possible to assign an obsidian source to each artifact. It has been shown that the majority of the obsidian originated from Tajumulco, with smaller amounts coming from El Chayal during the Chantuto phase and from El Chayal, San Martin Jilotepeque, and Pachuca during the late period.