Fotocopia.

Contenido: Introduction -- Background of research -- Chemical groups and sourcing -- A temporal review of obsidian procurement and distribution -- The preceramic -- Initial period (3750-2750 BP) -- The early horizon (2750-2050 BP) and early intermediate period (2050-1400 BP) -- Middle horizon (1400-1050 BP) -- Late intermediate period (1050-BP-AD 1476) and Late horizon (A.D. 1476-1532) -- Conclusions and discussion -- Acknowledgments

Recent discovery of the major geological sources of Central Andean obsidean permits a new understanding of the patterns of obsidian procurement and exchange by the prehispanic societies of southern Peru and northern Bolivia. Based on the trace element analisys of obsidean artifacts from 74 archaeological sites, it can be established that the two major deposits of obsidean were being exploited by 9400 BP, and that volcanic glass was being transported over long distances throughout Andean prehistory. Inhabitants of the Cuzco region acquired most obsidean from the Alca source in central Arequipa, while those in the high plateau surrounding Lake Titicaca obtained most obsidean from the Chivay source in southern Arequipa. Obsidean evidence suggests close ties between the Cuzco and Circum-Titicaca regions thoughout prehistory, except during the Middle Horizon (ca. 1400-1050 BP), when the expansion of the Huari and Tiahuanaco states disrupted this pattern.