#OnyxEquinox : I am curious if Zyanya comes from a family of lapidary artisans. I noticed her parents had some really nice greenstone jewelry in Episode 1, and she fashioned this obsidian (?) object rather easily in episode 4.

I know they had a small farm right next to their house, and Zyanya was training to be a warrior, but I'm surprised and impressed by her stone-working knowledge. Lapidary work was an occupation and required significant skills and technique.

Also, Oaxaca (the state where Danibaan/Monté Alban is located) has no natural obsidian or greenstone sources.

If Zyanya is working on an obsidian piece, the core had to be imported, likely from Central Mexico.

Work done in Danibaan/Monté Alban and on sites throughout Oaxaca show that the majority of obsidian came from Central Mexico.

Source 1: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352409X18304577

Source 2: https://www.colorado.edu/rioverdearchaeology/sites/default/files/attached-files/joyce_et_al._1995.pdf

The obsidian trade network is often overlooked when talking about Mesoamerica - people have a tendency to perceive obsidian as ubiquitous due to the fact that obsidian artifacts and objects are found all over.

But this just shows how significant the trade network was.

Let's zoom in a little closer on Central Mexico, shall we?

Anahuac's control and influence over obsidian sources is not to be trivialized. At the rough timeframe OE takes place in, these sources would have been controlled by the Triple Alliance.

Source 1: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-the-central-highlands-of-Mexico-showing-regions-sites-and-obsidian-sources_fig1_275958931

Source 2: https://www.academia.edu/26698948/Aztec_Obsidian_Industries

I'm not entirely sure if this stuff was considered when writing the show It's not a criticism or anything! The show's use of obsidian is focused on its fantastical technomagic elements, not trade networks.

I mostly just wanted to geek out about obsidian