3.4. Chivay Obsidian Consumption Contexts

Archaeological research conducted at four sites in the south-central Andean highlands, the consumption zone for Chivay obsidian, provide evidence for the changing use of Chivay obsidian over long time periods. This section will begin by focusing on the four sites because they important here as the sites have provided stratified evidence of obsidian consumption during the Archaic and Formative in well-dated archaeological contexts. This review of the sites will be relevant in subsequent discussions of change in obsidian use over time in the region, and for interpreting activities at the Chivay source.

3.4.1. Asana

The site of Asana is at 3435 masl in the Osmore drainage of Moquegua, and it lies 185 km or 50 hours by the hiking model to the south-east of the Chivay source. Excavations at Asana were directed by Aldenderfer(1998: 76-80)between 1986 and 1991 and in the lower levels of the deeply-stratified site obsidian was found in low concentrations.

Titicaca Chronology (BCE)	¹⁴C yr bp	Lab Code (Beta-)	Cal.BCE	¹⁴CSample Provenience	Obsidian Provenience	Obsidian Type	Obsidian Artifacts
Early Form. 2000-1300	3640±80	23364	2300-1750	II (sup), TU1	II	Aconcahua (visual ID)	n=3, 0.4%
Late Archaic 5000-3300	6040±90	24634	5210-4720	XIVb, I25b	XIV		n=1, 2%
Middle Archaic 7000-5000	6040±90	24634	5210-4720	XIVb, I25b	XIV		n=1, 2%
	6550±110	24629	5680-5300	XVIIa, G24b	KF4a: J29D-8; XVIIA	Chivay
	6550±110	24629	5680-5300	XVIIa, G24b	KF4b: J29D-8; XVIIA	Chivay
Early Archaic 9000-7000	8620±110	47057	8200-7450	PXIX, P38b
	8780±90	43920	8250-7600	PXX, V51a	KF5: F28D-5; PXXi	Chivay
	8720±110	33303	8250-7550	PXXI, R43c	KF6: P38D-W; PXXI	Chivay
	8720±110	33303	8250-7550	PXXI, R43c	KF2: W41A-4; PXXII	Chivay
	8720±120	43922	8250-7550	PXXIII, X36c
	8720±110	35599	8250-7550	PXXIV, T34a			n=11, 0.36%
					KF3: T42B-7;F28D-5	Chivay	n=1, 0.08%
					KF1: U41D-6; PXXV	Chivay
	9820±150	40063	9900-8700	PXXXIII, S38c

Table 3-4. Asana obsidian samples, collections, and associated¹⁴C samples by level (Aldenderfer 1998: 131, 157, 163, 209, 268;Frye, et al. 1998).

These data from Asana show that low frequencies of Chivay obsidian occurred regularly through Early and Middle Archaic levels at the site despite the presence of high quality cherts nearby, and low quality obsidian from the Aconcahua source located about 50 km away. During the Late Archaic, obsidian disappears from the site and in a level that is transitional between the Terminal Archaic and Early Formative, obsidian returns in the form of lower-quality Aconcahua material. These data will be discussed in more detail below as obsidian use is explored by time period.

3.4.2. Qillqatani rock shelter

The rock shelter of Qillqatani is at 4400 masl along the Río Chila to the southwest of Mazo Cruz, and it is 221 km or 50.3 hours walking time, by the hiking model, across the puna from the Chivay obsidian source. Qillqatani lies on the southwestern perimeter of the Lake Titicaca Basin in the headwaters of the ríoHuenque drainage in the Department of Puno, and it is not far from the headwaters of the Osmore drainage on the western slope in the Department of Moquegua. The shelter has a strong pastoral component, but excavations revealed occupations dating back to the Middle Archaic. The shelter is also known for elaborate rock art panels. Qillqatani was excavated in 1990 by Aldenderfer in two adjacent blocks, labeled East Block and West Block (1999;2005;in prep.). The East Block measured 20 m²in horizontal extent, while the West Block measured 60 m².

(a) Titicaca chronology, calibrated dates	(b) Qillqatani periods, calibrated dates	(c) Uncalibrated¹⁴C dates in r.c.y.b.p.	(d) Qillqatani provenience of obsidian	(e) Obsidian sample	(f) Block
LH AD1476 - 1532	LH 1476 - 1532 WIII / EIII	Level D11d-507/WIII: 400±50bp(B118156)
LIP AD1100 - 1476	LIP 1100 - 1476 WIV - WV / EIV		H12C-3; WV; LIP	Chivay	West
Tiwanaku Horizon AD400 - 1100	Tiwanaku AD 500 - 1100 WVI - WVII / EVI	Level D9a/F7/WVIII: 2210±60bp(B93354)	E9A-5; WVII; F-3	Aconc.	West
	Tiwanaku AD 500 - 1100 WVI - WVII / EVI	Level D9a/F7/WVIII: 2210±60bp(B93354)	E6A-4; WVII	Chivay	West
	Late Formative 400 BCE - AD500 WVIII - WIX / EVII - EVIII		D6C-8; WX; F-5; 1.45	Chivay	West
Late Formative 500 BCE - AD 400			D9A-8; WX; F-5; 1.45	Chivay	West
			G13A-10; WX	Chivay	West
			G13A-10; WX	Chivay	West
			D6C-9; WXI; F-6; 1.6	Chivay	West
			H12D-10; WXI; F-12; .75	Chivay	West
			H12D-10; WXI; F-12; .75	Chivay	West
			I12D-8; WXI; F-13; 2.00	Tumuku	West
	Formative C 900 - 400 BCE WXII - WXIV / EIX - EXIV	*East Block dates* Level D25d/F10/EVI: 2210±50bp(B93355) Level F23a/F4/EXI: 2620±60bp(B93357) *West Block date* Level G7c-513/WXII: 2550±80bp(B43924)	E25B-10; EIX; F-7	Chivay	East
Middle Formative 1300 - 500 BCE			D25D-6; EIX; F-7	Chivay	East
			D26B-10; EXI; F-12	Alca	East
			F23B-11; EXI; F-3	Chivay	East
			F24B-9; EXI; F-13	Aconc.	East
			D6D-11; WXIII; F-8; .75	Chivay	West
			F11A-3; WXIII; 1.65	Chivay	West
			D26D-13; EXIV; F-10	Tumuku	East
			D26C-13; EXIV	Chivay	East
			D26C-13; EXIV	Tumuku	East
	Formative B 1500 - 900 BCE WXV - WXIX		D8C-12; WXVIII; F-11	Chivay	West
			D8C-12; WXVIII; F-11	Chivay	West
			G7D-11; WXVIII; 5.5	Chivay	West
Early Formative 2000 - 1300 BCE		Level D6/F7/WXVI: 3000±70bp(B43929) Level D6a-522/WXIX:2940±70bp(B43925)	E9D-12; WXVIII; F-9	Chivay	West
	Formative A 2000 - 1500 BCE WXX - WXXIII		E6C-14; WXX; F-7; 1.4	Chivay	West
			E9A-15; WXX; 2.4	Chivay	West
			H13A-15; WXX; 4.6	Chivay	West
Terminal Archaic 3300 - 2000 BCE	Terminal Archaic 3300 - 2000 BCE WXXIV	Level F9a-532/WXXIV:3660±60bp(B43926)	F28B-19; WXXIV; HF-1	Chivay	West
			F28B-19; WXXIV; HF-1	Chivay	West
			F28B-19; WXXIV; HF-1	Chivay	West
			G9E-19; WXXIV; 98.70	Chivay	West
			G9E-19; WXXIV; 98.20	Chivay	West
			G10B-20; WXXIV; HF-2	Chivay	West
Late Archaic 5000 - 3300 BCE	Late Archaic 5000-3300 B.C.E WXXV-WXXIX	Level E9d-541/WXXX: 5620±120bp(B43927)	E9D-18; WXXX	Chivay	West
Middle Archaic 7000 - 5000 BCE	Middle Archaic 7000-5000 B.C.E WXXX - WXXXVI	Below level WXXX:7100±130bp(B18926) 7250±170bp(B18927)	FAC-25; WXXXIV	Source unknown	West

Table 3-5. Qillqatani excavation levels, radiocarbon dates, and obsidian samples. (a) Titicaca chronology, (b-c) levels and¹⁴C dates from Qillqatani, all dates are on charcoal and were analyzed by Beta Analytic, from Aldenderfer (1999). (d-f) Obsidian from Qillqatani chemically provenienced at MURR from data presented by Frye, Aldenderfer, and Glascock (1998), with "Tumuku" type replacing reference to "possible Alca-2", and Aconcahua type abbreviated to "Aconc."

Figure 3-7. Qillqatani data showing percentage of bifacially flaked tools and percentages of debris made from obsidian per assemblage by count (Aldenderfer 1999;Aldenderfer in prep.).

	TOOLS					DEBRIS
	Obsidian		Non-Obsidian			Obsidian		Non-Obsidian
Qillqatani Period	No.	Ave Wt.	No.	Ave Wt.	Total	No.	Ave Wt.	No.	Ave Wt.	Total
Late Horizon AD1476-1532			13	0.84	13	10	0.68	128	1.57	138
LIP AD1100-1476	2	0.75	11	3.35	13	22	0.46	308	1.81	330
Tiwanaku AD500-1100	3	0.80	37	1.49	40	50	0.54	565	2.23	615
Late Formative 400BCE-AD500	9	0.84	102	2.19	111	91	0.47	859	2.19	950
Formative C 900-400 BCE	19	1.21	272	2.44	291	144	0.46	1157	1.39	1301
Formative B 1500-900 BCE			2		2	85	0.58	525	1.73	610
Formative A 2000-1500 BCE	6	0.93	32	1.49	38	160	0.53	1057	1.37	1217
Term. Archaic 3300-2000 BCE	12	0.99	58	3.00	70	79	0.79	403	1.79	482
Late Archaic 5000-3300 BCE	5	1.57	36	3.57	41	18	0.56	147	1.78	165
Middle Archaic 7000-5000 BCE	2	0.20	33	7.26	35	37	0.60	674	2.76	711
Total	58	1.05	596	2.87	654	696	0.55	5823	1.84	6519

Table 3-6. Qillqatani periods by tools (bifacially flaked) and debitage (all other lithics), in obsidian and non-obsidian categories.

Excavations in the two blocks at Qillqatani revealed a switch from hunting and gathering to a predominantly pastoral economy between the occupation in level 25, and that of level 24 that was stratigraphically superior (Aldenderfer 2005: 20;). The occupation in Level 24 appears to have been the first residential occupation, and it is considerably thicker than were previous levels that appeared to have been logistical in nature. The ovoid structures of Level 24 are slightly larger and are free standing, while in the preceding levels the structures are against the rear wall of the rock shelter. Level 24 is the first level with ceramics, but it is being considered Terminal Archaic in this analysis due to economic evidence and the exceptionally early ceramics at Qillqatani.

Qillqatani Period	Weight in Grams					Total Count
Qillqatani Period	*0 - 1 g*	*1 - 2 g*	*2 - 3 g*	*3 - 4 g*	*4 - 5 g*	Total Count
Late Horizon	9		1			10
LIP	22					22
Tiwanaku	44	5	1			50
Late Formative	79	8	4			91
Formative C	129	11	2	2		144
Formative B	71	8	4	1	1	85
Formative A	135	17	5	1	2	160
Terminal Archaic	58	12	5	4		79
Late Archaic	13	4	1			18
Middle Archaic	29	4	2	2		37
Total Count	589	69	25	10	3	696

Table 3-7. Counts of obsidian debitage at Qillqatani by weight (g).

The earliest obsidian at Qillqatani is a Middle Archaic sample from an unknown source. In the Late Archaic, Chivay obsidian begins to appear at the rock shelter. Subsequently, during the Terminal Archaic obsidian from Chivay occurs in relatively large numbers and it persists until the end of the Early Formative (the Qillqatani Formative Cperiod) where chemical testing of ten obsidian samples reveals there is greater heterogeneity in obsidian procurement. In this period, Chivay obsidian makes up 60% of the obsidian tested by the Missouri University Research Reactor (MURR), the Tumuku type makes up 20%, and the Aconcahua type and Alca type make up the remaining 10% (one sample of each).

Three obsidian artifacts from two proveniences at Qillqatani, West level XI and East level XIV, were found to belong to the Tumuku chemical group, a group that derives from an as-yet-unlocated source that probably lies in the southern department of Puno. This chemical group has not yet been well characterized, as no source samples are available and the samples analyzed by NAA in the 1970s at Lawrence Berkeley Labs (Browman 1998: 309-311; Burger and Asaro 1977) are not easily comparable with more recent NAA results from MURR. As a consequence, in initial studies of these three Qillqatani artifacts it was proposed that the artifacts belong to a subgroup from the Alca obsidian source in northern Arequipa, a subgroup that was referred to as "Alca-2" (Frye, et al. 1998) and "Alca-Z" (Jennings and Glascock 2002: 111). More recently, Michael Glascock at MURR has stated that these three Qillqatani samples probably derive from the Tumuku source (M. Glascock, March 2006, pers. comm.).

Flake sizes at Qillqatani indicate that relatively large flakes were being discarded (Table 3-7), particularly during the Terminal Archaic and Early to Middle Formative. A central question concerning obsidian circulation is to what degree were flakes used for shearing and butchering tasks? Were flakes sufficiently large to be hand-held for these activities? Length measurements from these flakes from Qillqatani are not available, but an estimate of the size of those flakes based on their weight is provided by comparing similar obsidian flakes from the Chivay source dataset. An obsidian flake weighing 4g from the Chivay dataset had the following dimensions: 45 x 13 x 7mm. A smaller obsidian flake weighing 3g measured 31 x 14 x 6mm. These flakes appear to have been sufficiently large for shearing and butchering tasks. Further technical studies, as well as use wear and residue analysis, may shed more light on the use of large obsidian flakes in the regional consumption zone.

Small quantities of material and regional models of exchange

The actual volume or weight of obsidian at Qillqatani is relatively small. Obsidian from the Chivay source appears in small quantities in nearly every stratum in the approximately 8000 year sequence. The most informative data on long distance exchange come not from the total mass of obsidian, but from the variability in the relative percentage of obsidian flaked and obsidian tools in each lithic assemblage through the sequence. Nevertheless, the weight of obsidian tools at Qillqatani totals 43 g, and the sum of the weight of obsidian flakes is 382 g out of a total of 11,085 g of lithic material. Thus, the entire quantity of obsidian excavated at Qillqatani is only about 1.5% of the cargo that could be carried by a single llama.

These figures are meant to highlight a central issue with obsidian studies overall: the actual quantities of obsidian encountered and evaluated from the consumption sites throughout the south-central Andes are relatively low. The significance of obsidian circulation over the larger region is not matter of weight or volume, but rather a question of consistency and changes in the proportions of particular sources utilized over time. These data from Qillqatani underscore this issue. A comparison of the persistence of non-local obsidian at Qillqatani as of level 24 (X

Table 3-6XandXTable 3-7X) with the non-local obsidian at Asana (XTable 3-4X) during earlier periods of the Archaic, suggests that on a regional scale mechanisms of exchange, or direct acquisition, were more intermittent during the earlier Asana phases. In contrast, Qillqatani has high quality cherts and low quality Aconcahua type obsidian available in the immediate proximity of the rock shelter. Thus, the question becomes: why transport Chivay obsidian 200 km when alternative materials are locally available? Further, why was the transmission of Chivay obsidian so consistent through time? In this perspective the low but consistent quantities of Chivay obsidian that were conveyed throughout the south-central Andean highlands during the prehispanic period can be seen as a gauge of highland interaction and horizontal complementarity, with wider implications for exchange.

3.4.3. Sumbay

The work of Máximo Neira Avendaño (1990;1968) is distinguished as being the earliest systematic Archaic Period excavations in the Arequipa highlands. In the mid-1960s Neira excavated at seven preceramic sites close to the Sumbay train station, including several rock shelters, known as Sumbay-1 through Sumbay-7. The sites were later renamed "Ccollpa-Sumbay" by Eloy Lináres Malaga in 1984 (1990;1992) as part of the CONCYTEC survey.

The Sumbay area lies 42 km to the south-east of the Chivay source across the pampa and it is 9.3 hours from the obsidian source area by the hiking model. The main cavern, SU-3, is a rock shelter that is concealed in narrow canyon that cuts through the puna. This rock shelter measuring 15m across, 11m deep, and 6m in height at the dripline, was badly looted in the 1930s, and Neira's excavations focused on the remaining intact portions of the cave. The cave is known for exceptional rock art panels featuring both petroglyphs, ochre pictographs, and a variety of animal species including elongated camelids, a hunting puma, humanoid figures, and surithe Andean ostrich.

Seven excavation pits were placed in the main shelter, SU-3. Pit 5 produced obsidian samples in every level along with a large number of tools made from pitchstone, a dull vitreous material formed from weathered obsidian that has absorbed water from the environment. Pitchstone has 4-10% water while obsidian has 0.1 - 0.5% water (M. Glascock, 2006 pers. comm.). The source of this pitchstone is probably somewhere near Sumbay and further study of this pitchstone may provide an interesting complement to the chemical characterization of obsidian.

Figure 3-8. Sumbay pitchstone projectile points.

Titicaca Chronology	Sumbay Stratum	¹⁴C yr bp	Lab # (Bonn)	Cal.BCE	Obsidian Type	Artifacts
	1	None				Many very small flakes.
Late Archaic 5000-3300 BCE	2	5350±90	1559	4350-3980		One pitchstone knife, 5 broken pitchstone points, 1 quartzite scraper, 100 flakes.
Late Archaic 5000-3300 BCE	3	6160±120	1558	5400-4750	Two obsidian samples (Chivay)	One pitchstone foliate point with concave base, 4 pitchstone scrapers, 6 broken pitchstone points, 1 broken obsidian point, 62 flakes.
Middle Archaic 7000-5000 BCE	3	6160±120	1558	5400-4750	Two obsidian samples (Chivay)
Middle Archaic 7000-5000 BCE	4	None			One obsidian sample (Chivay)	Six pitchstone points: 2 incomplete stemmed with concave base, 1 almost complete, 3 foliate points, one with broken tip and broken base. Seven incomplete pitchstone points, 2 incomplete quartzite points. One pitchstone knife, 110 flakes, 1 worked bone, 5 bone concentration.

Table 3-8. Sumbay, SU-3 Pit 5. Strata with obsidian samples and associated artifacts(Neira Avendaño 1990: 32-33).

Twenty-five obsidian samples were analyzed from the Sumbay area. Twenty samples from the surface and terreplain of the rock shelter SU-2, two from the surface of the rock shelter SU-3, and 3 from excavations in SU-3, Pit 5 (Burger, et al. 1998: 209;Burger, et al. 2000: 278). All samples turned out to be of the Chivay type. Since stratum 3 was dated to the Middle - Late Archaic transition, the stratum 4 obsidian sample is stratigraphically below than that, so it is probably Middle Archaic in date.

3.4.4. The Ilave Valley and Jiskairumoko

Located in the Department of Puno in the western Lake Titicaca Basin, the Ilave river valley is an open, terraced river valley and it forms the highest volume river drainage to flow into Lake Titicaca from the west. Jiskairumoko (95-189) is the largest multicomponent Archaic/Formative site identified during survey and it lies 200 km from the Chivay obsidian source or 44 hours travel time across the expansive puna grasslands. Mark Aldenderfer conducted research in the Ilave valley from 1994 to 2002 including a pedestrian survey, a testing program, and excavation work (Aldenderfer 1997;Aldenderfer 1998). In 1997 and 1998 Cindy Klink conducted research in the Huenque drainage, a principal tributary that joins the Ilave from the south (Klink 2005;Klink 2006;Klink and Aldenderfer 1996). Nathan Craig excavated at the site of Jiskairumoko and tested at numerous other sites between 1999 and 2002 (Craig 1999;Craig 2005;Craig and Aldenderfer 2002;Craig and Aldenderfer In Press). Tripcevich conducted a viewshed analysis of sites in the Ilave drainage using data from the 1994 and 1995 Ilave valley survey (Tripcevich 2002).

IlaveValley

In the Ilave valley, obsidian was scarce prior to 3300 BCE, but it appears in a number of Terminal Archaic and Formative contexts after that date. Diagnostic projectile points from the Ilave area reveal a dramatic change in material type with the Terminal Archaic.

Figure 3-9. Comparison of projectile point counts in the Ilave Valley and the Upper Colca.

Using only diagnostic projectile points from the Klink and Aldenderfer (2005) point typology, these data reveal a shift to greater use of obsidian with series 5 projectile points. Following the point typology, all series 1 through 4 points are diagnostic to the Terminal Archaic or earlier, except for types 4C and 4E which have been excluded from this analysis. The lower part ofXFigure 3-9Xreveals data classified into the same three groups, but with data from the Chivay obsidian source area resulting from the 2003 Upper Colca project. Comparing these two datasets reveals that with the advent of Series 5 points in the Terminal Archaic after 3300 BCE there is a sudden upswing in obsidian use in the Ilave consumption zone that corresponds perfectly with a dramatic shift in projectile point production at the Chivay source area itself. There appear to have been pan-regional changes occurring with the widespread adoption of series 5 style projectile points, the use of obsidian, and these changes are possibly related to the greater use of the bow and arrow.

Jiskairumoko (95-189)

The site of Jiskairumoko was excavated using a broad, horizontal décapage technique between the years 1999 and 2002, and Craig's (2005) dissertation forms the site archive. Radiocarbon dates fromexcavation work at Jiskairumoko range from the Late-Terminal Archaic transition with a date of 4562±73bp(AA58476; 3520-3020 BCE)through to the end of the Early Formative, with a date of3240±70bp (Beta-97321; 1690-1390 BCE). Note that Craig (2005) has the Terminal Archaic dating to 3000-1500 BCE, while in the Upper Colca Project and in this dissertation the period dates to 3300 - 2000 BCE All references to the "Terminal Archaic" have been adjusted to the latter time range in this document unless otherwise noted.

Craig and Aldenderfer chemically characterized 68 bifacially-flaked obsidian tools from excavated contexts at Jiskairumoko (96% of all obsidian tools from Jiskairumoko) by sending these items to M. Steven Shackley at the UC Berkeley Archaeological XRF Lab(Craig 2005: 513, 908-916). The samples were compared with four geological samples that provided to Shackley from nodules that I had collected from Chivay source in 2003. Three of the nodules provided to Shackley were from the Maymeja area and one was from east of Cerro Hornillo. The XRF results showed that 97% of the Jiskairumoko obsidian tools (n = 66) were from the Chivay source and 3% (n = 2) were from the Alca source. These values diverge slightly from obsidian type distributions in the Titicaca Basin more generally (XTable 3-3X), where 90.5% (n = 466) of all of the obsidian artifacts tested to date from the Titicaca Basin are Chivay type. These data indicate that the people at Jiskairumoko were more intensively using Chivay obsidian in the Terminal Archaic and Early Formative than were Titicaca Basin residents over all, especially in contrast to the variety in obsidian types that emerge from samples dating to later times.

Obsidian artifacts from excavations at Jiskairumoko reveal that obsidian was used in similar proportions for projectile points from excavated contexts as for points from surface contexts in the Ilave valley. Craig(2005: 685)observes that 18% (n = 54) of the excavated Jiskairumoko projectile points are made from obsidian. He also notes that 50% of these have edge modification in the form of serration or denticulation while only 15% of non-obsidian points have edge treatment, a statistically very significant pattern that he attributes to the symbolic importance of this material. Obsidian was found, along with other lithics and a carved camelid effigy, in Burial 1 at Jiskairumoko in the grave of an elderly adult female with cranial deformation, a primary deposit dating to the Terminal Archaic or 3019-2859 cal BCE(Craig 2005: 680-682). Graves excavated in the Ilave valley area also contain a variety of non-local grave goods including obsidian, lapis, and gold, but non-local grave goods only occur in contexts dating to the Terminal Archaic and later.