Prehispanic green obsidian mining in Hidalgo

29th May 2022

Mexicolore contributor Alejandro Pastrana

We’re sincerely grateful to Dr. Alejandro Pastrana, a pioneer in the geo-archaeological investigation of obsidian deposits in Mexico, for this illuminating introduction to ancient obsidian working. With a doctorate in archaeology, his research has focused from 1980 to the present on mining, knapping and distribution of obsidian in Central Mesoamerica. Since 1974 he has been a researcher at the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), Mexico.

Introduction
Based on 40 years in the Sierra de las Navajas researching the mining of green obsidian and the supplying of obsidian to the most powerful and developed cultures of Mesoamerica – such as Teotihuacán, Tula and the Triple Alliance of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tacuba – we’ve been able to gather fragmentary but extensive information on the daily life, skills, main industrial objectives, cutting, transport, and housing of obsidian and the miners who dug it in this particular deposit, located in a cold, humid forest 2,500-3,180 metres above sea level.
We’ve decided to present the facts, experiences and mentality of life in pre-Hispanic society through the world of obsidian in the form of a ‘story’, focusing on this volcanic glass’s strategic importance - its multifunctionality in diverse productive, commercial, military and magico-religious activities. Expertise in exploiting, distributing and controlling obsidian, over time, reflects the history of power struggles at the heart of Mesoamerica.

The story of Itzcuauhtli, the boy obsidian miner
We can imagine the families of obsidian workers in Tenochtitlan, sitting around the hearth at night, giving advice to the next generation of miners, about to set out next day on the 70 km walk northwards to the deposit lands. The boy’s grandfather addresses Itzcuauhtli (Black/Obsidian Eagle):-
‘Go forth and learn in the mountains, walk, go and work down the pit and in the workshops cutting blades, spearheads, scrapers, preparing cores, making up your loads of itztli (obsidian), prepare your meals, build your shelter with branches and thatch [pic 2], look for mushrooms, blackberries, milk the ocotl tree of its ocotzotl (resin), and always keep with you the resin, your stone axe, fire kindling sticks, ixtli fibre, your gourd waterbottle, your bag with salt, chiles, tortillas and pinole (maize brew). Don’t forget your maize leaf cape and if you get sick, drink an infusion of the ocoxochitl plant, which grows in the mountains.

‘Pray to the mountain gods Tepeyolotl and Tezcatlipoca, remember that the god of obsidian, Itztli, is at times a trickster, playing with people – he gives but also takes away, he traps men in his obsidian mirror, and he knows the fate and the sins of the flesh of men, he knows you’re after the girl who swings her hips like a snake, coatl, when she goes to fetch water: look after her and marry her when you are grown up and a brave tequihua warrior. Don’t provoke Tezcatlipoca [pic 4] into punishing you.

’In the mountains you may be disorientated by the dark fog and the echo from the mountain and its nahuales (spirits); if you hear sounds from inside the earth, they might be the heartbeats of the god of the mountain Tepeyolotl. Don’t get distracted, stick to your path, look out for the moss on the trees – it comes from the north-east where the dew comes from so you don’t get lost. If there’s fog [pic 5] run for shelter as it’s going to rain or hail like icy obsidian; take care to avoid lightning which strikes the wettest trees, always use your deerskin cape that your grandfather gave you to keep dry.

’Take care to avoid the ancient mines of the Toltecs and Teotihuacanos, which get covered with branches and dry dead leaves – they’re death traps and VERY deep, there are hundreds of them. If you fall into one no-one will hear or find you. Don’t lose your walking stick, move it to and fro in front of you to avoid falling into the holes, and to protect you from snakes – but don’t disturb them, they too are deities. If you search for mushrooms under the ocoxal (pine leaves) don’t put your hand in first, use your stick. Remember the rain washes the white spots on the poisonous mushrooms and they look like the edible ones.

’If you hunt for food or for skins with your bow and arrow, only hunt rabbits, squirrels, tepescuintles (pacas) and turkeys, don’t you dare aim or shoot at a deer for it belongs to the Great Speaker, the Ruler of Texcoco and to his uncle, Itzcohuatzin (Obsidian Serpent), Ruler of Tenochtitlan: it is they who each takes a half share of the itztlis, the obsidian artefacts brought by the loadcarriers [pic 6] from the towns of Epazoyucan, Cempoala, Tezontepec, Tizayuca, Texcoco and Tenochtitlan.
Note carefully where to find the springs of fresh mountain water, where the deer and the coyotes drink, where the rain god Tlaloc pours clean water, which sings as it ripples over the small obsidian stones.

Mining
’Look after the mine entrance [pic 7] – keep it clean, help remove the earth using the ixtle ropes, supported by clean polished holly oak or pine poles; the rope mustn’t touch the mine walls and must be dry. Make sure glass splinters don’t stick to the rope. Don’t drop anything. When you drag out the earth from underground as a team, if you should cut your hands be brave, don’t cry, think instead of those poor miners underneath you. If you do get cut, treat yourself with white cobwebs and the fleshy part of the maguey plant, which will stop the bleeding.

’Being part of a team of miners you’ll learn to go down without fear, seeking permission from Mictlantecuhtli (Lord of the Heart of the Earth) and Quetzalcóatl: together with Tezcatlipoca it was they who recovered the bones of giants, enraging the lord of the underworld who with his mouth of serrated obsidian hacked off Tezcatlipoca’s foot up to his ankle: this is why in place of a foot he has a smoking obsidian mirror [pic 8], his emblem and symbol.

’Obey and help senior miners, be agile and sure-footed, put up with the smoke from the torches – it’s dark, humid and cold underground – show respect for the spiders, scorpions, centipedes, they are creatures of the kingdom of darkness, Mictlan the underworld. Set up carefully your lamps and torches, tie your leather sandals properly, so you don’t cut yourself with sharp obsidian: stripey green to make scrapers, green with veins for spearheads and knives, transparent yellowy-green like snake’s eyes to make large blades for sceptres for rulers and priests, through whom the gods speak to men. Listen to the sound of each colour, each piece, each slab. If you’re lucky you’ll find the big blades and mirrors made by the giants, to offer to the gods of the mine. The mining instructors will teach you how to recognise solid obsidian, with no fractures, faults or stains, that comes out of the heart of mother earth and is specially good for carving and polishing to a golden sparkle.

’You will dig using hard, coloured holly oak poles that have been carved, scraped and smoothed with blades and chippings of obsidian, with deer horns and stone tips, removing earth in baskets made of bulrush, of woven reed, strengthened with leather, of the type they bring from the fortress of Tulancingo (the place of reeds), where there are ancient lakes, on the route to the hot lands, where the Totonacs and the Huastecs live – our mutinous servants.
’Learn to look for and make your axes, hammers and beaters from pink or brown stone [pic 10], and use them to carve the obsidian and listen to the sounds created. Use hard black stone to make your round hammers and to split the biggest blocks.

’Don’t work if you’re wet – you’ll cut your hands with the splinters that stick to you, and you can suffer dangerous cuts if the heavy blocks with sharp edges should slip. Don’t dig into damp earth – your tools will stick in the mud and you’ll get no nearer to finding the best itztetes, obsidian stones. Work where the land is dry, hard, solid, don’t be lazy and go for the thin and crumbly soil; don’t dig where you hear echoes – you might come face to face with the tunnels of the Teotihuacanos, the Toltecs, the earth might swallow you and you would end up meeting Mictlantecuhtli, lord of the dead.

’Follow the example of the mine foreman, keeping records of his workers, of days worked, of obsidian loads; his wife would supply him with freshly prepared meals, unlike miners who would eat reheated food, wrapped meat, tamales and tortillas made in nearby towns like Epazoyucan and Tlaquilpan and drink octli – over fermented pulque, instead of being content with a little cactus juice to conserve your strength for sacred, hard labour.

In the obsidian workshops...
’Learn to carve with skill, start with poor quality obsidian, get to know its defects, its fracture points, where it splits easily, don’t waste good obsidian with its fine sound – it’s hard enough to find it and to bring it to the surface as it is.

’Learn to make blades, however short and crooked to start with – with practice they will be straight, large and sharp, like those that slice easily through meat; they will be as big as the ones carved by expert royal craftsmen, used for human sacrifices and offerings of blood for our gods, so that the Sun will keep on its path. Watch and learn from the old masters, those who carve spearheads, knives, polished mirrors, lip plugs and earrings, notice the stones they use to beat and scrape – they obtain them from cores using hard wooden poles and they sharpen the tips and blades with deer bone points.

’And when you finally become a master blade carver – itzchihuque – from a line of obsidian craftsmen, a master miner, packer, loader and mountain expert, then you’ll be able to instruct others on where to open a mine, when to close one that’s in danger of collapsing, where to find the best itztetes (obsidian stones), the ones we use to slice meat, scrape maguey, carve digging sticks, cut rope [pic 15], to make broadswords, bows, arrow and dart heads, mirrors of the gods, earrings and lip plugs of priests and high-ranking warriors (tequihuas), lancets for performing self-sacrifice, drawing blood from our ears and calves.

’Then you’ll understand the value of the toltecaliztlis – obsidian masterpieces, green as jade – and of xoxouhqui itztli, as green as precious greenstones, the symbol and heart of our empire, that we inherited from the Toltecs from great Teotihuacan, the city of the gods.

’Following your destiny set by your birth date and the family who created you, you will become a master carver of fine knives and spearheads, of the straight and true and sharp blades for the broadswords [pic 17] of brave warriors, for the wooden shields studded with obsidian. With patience and artistic skill you will fashion and polish the obsidian artefacts placed by the priests of Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc in the rich offerings of the Templo Mayor pyramids.

’Your destiny is to become leader of a tlacochcalli, house of weapons, because the night you were born there was fierce lightning and thunder: the gods were carving in the heavens great obsidian knives, announcing your arrival, seen by a priest reflected in Tezcatlipoca’s mirror. On your return from Itztepec [pic 18], the hill of blades, in a year’s time, I’ll tell you all about what the priest saw in the obsidian mirror…’

Image sources:-
• All pictures courtesy of Alejandro Pastrana, except for:-
• Pic 4: image from the Codex Borgia scanned from our own copy of the ADEVA facsimile edition, Graz, Austria, 1976
• Pic 8: image scanned from The Aztecs: People of the Sun by Alfonso Caso, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1958
• Pic 18: image from the Codex Mendoza scanned from our own copy of the James Cooper Clark facsimile edition, Waterlow & Sons, London, 1938.