This is an obsidian, only 5 centimeters long, most likely found on a deserted pasture in the Texas Panhandle. But when Matthew Blange, an anthropologist at Southern Methodist University, saw it, he had in mind images of the Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado crossing the plains more than 470 years ago in search of the legendary city.
Blange believes that the sharp stone knife may have been dropped by members of Coronado's expedition, which included Native Mexicans who traveled long distances through parts of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma and Kansas. His theory was supported by a spectrometer's analysis of the chemical composition of the blade, which showed that the knife was related to the Pachuca Mountains in central Mexico, where the local indigenous people used obsidian to make cutting tools before the Spanish conquest.
"This humble little object meets all the requirements for compelling evidence of Coronado's presence in the Texas Panhandle," Blange said. It is the correct artifact, it is completely consistent with the other findings, the right material was found in the right place, and there is no indication that this was intentional**.
Browner, director of the Archaeological Research Collection at Southern Methodist University's Deman College of Humanities and Sciences, published their findings in the Journal of the North Texas Archaeological Society with co-author Charlene Irving.
Other researchers traced the route of Spanish explorers and indigenous people from Mexico through what is now the United States through obsidian blades from central Mexico; Because the blades are brittle, they are discarded after they break en route.
Blange admits that the location of the blade's discovery is the object of speculation, as he examined the artwork after the collector's death. But maps reconstructed by Coronado's expedition show that the travelers may have passed by or passed through ranches near McLean, Texas, where collector Lloyd Irving grew up.
From an early age, Owen had a keen interest in historical artifacts and was keen to search for treasures buried in the years on his farm. Year after year, his collection grows richer, each of which carries his endless reverie about history. One day, Owen's daughter-in-law, Charlene, brought a batch of carefully framed artifacts in the hope that Blanch could identify the obsidian fragments among them. Blange carefully examined each piece of obsidian, his gaze finally resting on a stone tablet with a greenish hue. This stone tablet is distinctive, as if it has been quietly inserted into the frame by a latecomer.
With the help of the magical power of the spectrometer, Browne traces the ** of obsidian. The results showed that they came from the Pachuca Mountains in far central Mexico. There, obsidian was the material of choice for the aborigines to make tools until the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. So, how did this exotic obsidian blade cross thousands of mountains and rivers and finally settle in the Texas Panhandle? In the fog of history, there is no clear evidence that there was a relationship between the indigenous people of the Texas Panhandle and the ethnic groups of central Mexico before the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century. Faced with this puzzle, Blange proposes three bold hypotheses: perhaps the young Lloyd Owen had acquired the precious blade through a trade or exchange of art with other collectors; Perhaps the knife was just a carefully curated ** designed to draw attention to Owen and his collection; Or maybe the knife was really an archaeological treasure that Owen found in Texas. He even speculated that the obsidian sword might have been taken north by some native Mexican who had traveled to Quevira with the Coronado expedition. If more conclusive evidence can be found near the place where Owen found the sword, it will undoubtedly provide strong support for archaeologists to unravel this mystery. This evidence may prove the artifact's close connection to the Coronado Expedition site, leaving valuable clues to that history. "Because we know that Owen found the knife on his family farm, we can speculate that someone on Coronado's expedition discarded it," Blange said. When I talk to people who collect artifacts, I tell them to record where they found the items. Because most of us now have mobile phones, we can easily record GPS coordinates. Now you can provide archaeologists with precise locations, which helps them identify artifacts and could lead to more discoveries. ”
Reference: "The Central Mexican Origin of Obsidian Prism Blades from the Texas Panhandle" Journal of the Archaeological Society of North Texas.
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