The environmental context of the workshop area on the south side of Maymeja has several characteristics commonly associated with residential base camp sites and these environmental features appear to have contributed to the concentration of obsidian production activities that occurred in this area. These site characteristics include perennial water nearby, grazing, long hours of direct sunlight with a relative abundance of shelter providing partial protection from wind.

The artifactual evidence from the A03-126 workshop, bracketed by three 14C dates between the Terminal Archaic and the Middle Formative, suggest that there were three principal episodes of activity at the workshop. First, in the early history of the workshop obsidian knappers took advantage of relatively large obsidian nodules that were apparently available in Maymeja. Next, the production pattern shifted and long, narrow obsidian cores of Ob1 material became abundant. Subsequently, after a brief ambiguous phase that perhaps reflected the exploitation of residual materials from the preceding stage, there was return to a pattern that is similar to the earliest occupation levels in terms of flake morphology and technical class variability. These episodes can be interpreted as demonstrating (1) initial local, irregular production, (2) intensive procurement and production that perhaps involved larger scale quarrying, (3) a return to irregular production and occasional quarrying. This evidence will be explored below.

Figure 7-11. Location of test unit Q02-2u3 in site A03-126 workshop.