Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A fabulous collection of 4 obsidian cores for making blades. They each exhibit an elongated and slender form with a flat base. The fluted sides taper from the base to the rounded tip. At one time these were a cone shape but were flaked into these shapes in order to create razor sharp blades. The blades were created by applying pressure to the base of these cores to flake off a part of the face, which created the fluted surface seen here. Obsidian was a hugely important resource in ancient Mesoamerica, traded far from its source in the volcanic zones of the Sierra Madre in Mexico and Guatemala. Obsidian breaks in a very predictable and controlled way to create razor sharp fragments. Size of largest: 6.5" L x 2" W (16.5 cm x 5.1 cm); smallest: 6" L x 1.25" W (15.2 cm x 3.2 cm)

Provenance: private Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA collection; ex-Dr. David Harner collection, Springdale, Arkansas, USA, acquired between the 1950s and 1960s

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#163370

Age and use expected surface wear. Chips to faces with larger losses to tips of all. Overall forms and fluting are preserved. Light scattered mineral deposits on all.