Archaeology of Teotihuacan, Mexico
Blades
are one of the most commonly-found obsidian objects in Teotihuacan. However,
they were buried as offerings almost exclusively in Grave 14 at the Feathered
Serpent Pyramid. More than 1200 complete, semicomplete, or fragmented blades
were recovered from the grave. About 297 blade fragments, according to
Pérez (1939), was found in front of the staircase of the Feathered
Serpent Pyramid. In other places at the monument, fragments of blades were
found as fill materials in much smaller quantities. During field work in
Grave 14, it was observed that many large blades comprised a complex of
offering set, because, in some cases, long blades were arranged in parallel
rows, often beneath the remains of textiles or other types of organic materials
that contained certain kinds of greenstone objects (Photo). Many short
and wide blades found near these complexes seem to have originally been
part of them.
(Left
photo showing blades after greenstone set was removed) In total, 1230 complete
or incomplete prismatic blades were recorded for Grave 14. Among them,
1148 are green. There were two basic types of obsidian blades that were
generally located correspondingly in two distinct zones of Grave 14. Long,
wide blades usually with blunt points and sharp edges without notches were
located in the central and southwestern zone. Blades that were short (less
than 122 mm), narrow, light (less than 6 g), and often possessing one sharp
point and two or more side notches were mainly discovered in the northeastern
zone. Concentrations of blades were not consistently associated with any
specific part of the individual's body. Instead, they seem to have been
deliberately laid collectively on the bodies as a general offering dedicated
to the burial.
