Teotihuacano Knappers

Private commision, illustration of Teotihuacano obsidian knappers from the barrio of Tlajinga.

As per David Carballo, lead director of the excavation site and commisioner of the illustration:
"One of the initial goals of the Proyecto Arqueologico Tlajinga Teotihuacan (PATT) was to systematically investigate a domestic obsidian workshop, which had not been done previously in the city. Excavations at Compound 17:S3W1 verified that this large apartment compound, measuring some 100 m north-south, was inhabited by obsidian workers and recovered over 400 kilos of obsidian in only six weeks of excavation.

The family or families specialized in prismatic blade manufacture and left remains of almost the entire production sequence, including cashes of blade cores, production tools, and piles of debris. From analyzing these remains it became clear that variable skill levels were represented among the Knappers, indicating apprenticeship within the compound.

This illustration draws on knowledge from these excavations plus later Aztec and Tarascan blade production."