Obsidian Blades

Timeline

1. 1371–1375Pachuca volcanic obsidian quarries · Mexican PlateauIn the 1370s, Mexica artisans and merchants quarried green and grey obsidian from Pachuca, Otumba, and elsewhere, transporting the raw material by canoe across Lake Texcoco to Tenochtitlan workshops. Control of quarry sources and transport routes was a key indicator of a city-state's economic power.
2. 1373–1378Tenochtitlan stone-tool artisan district · TenochtitlanArtisans struck cores with antler or wooden hammers to detach regular prismatic flakes, then refined them by pressure flaking into straight or curved blades. In the 1370s, Tenochtitlan's stone-tool workshops could produce hundreds of standardized blades daily, supplying the army, priests, and the civilian market.
3. 1376–1380Templo Mayor and military barracks of Tenochtitlan · TenochtitlanObsidian blades set along both sides of a wooden club formed the macuahuitl, the Mexica warrior's primary close-combat weapon; the sharp flakes were also used for sacrificial offerings, bloodletting rituals, and surgery. The blades were brittle and required frequent replacement, giving rise to a stable production-and-distribution system.